Nairobi News

The Transitional Government of Mali has publicly denounced what it says is Algeria’s interference in its internal affairs.

In a statement on January 25, 2024, Mali expressed concerns over what it claimed were, among others, cases of hostility by the Algerian authorities.

The statement further expressed what it described as the “proliferation of hostile acts, cases of hostility, and interference” by the Algerian authorities.

Mali further accuses the North African country of hosting ‘subversive Malian citizens and Malian citizens wanted by the Malian justice system’ for acts of terrorism at the highest level of the Algerian state.

Another claim by Mali is the ‘existence of offices on Algerian territory representing certain groups that signed the Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in Mali, which came out of the Algiers process’, and which have since become terrorist actors.

Algeria is further accused of the ‘desire to maintain the United Nations sanctions regime against Mali’, at a time when the Non-Aligned Movement and the Russian Federation were opposed to it, in the interest of Mali, which was requesting the lifting of said regime.

This comes amid reports of ‘the hidden hand of the Algerian authorities in a maneuver to impose a chapter on Mali in the final document of the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Kampala, Uganda’ without the consent of the Malian authorities.

Mali, under the rule of interim President Assimi Goita, asserts that these actions constitute a violation of Mali’s sovereignty and national security.

It accuses the Algerian authorities of considering Mali as their “backyard” or a “puppet state,” on a background of contempt and condescension.

“The Transitional Government calls on the Algerian authorities to immediately cease their hostility and to respect good neighborly relations. It also reminds the Algerian authorities of the centuries-old and fraternal relations that exist between the Malian people and the Algerian people and invites them to remember their responsibility in the deterioration of the security situation in the Sahel,” the statement reads in part.

The statement signed by Mali’s Minister of State and the government’s Spokesperson, reaffirms Mali’s commitment to promoting friendly and harmonious relations with all the countries of the world, subject to respect for the principles guiding public action in Mali, as defined by His Excellency Colonel Assimi GOÏTA, President of the Transition, Head of State, namely:

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