Algeria and Mali have agreed to return their ambassadors and reopen their mutual airspace, ending a diplomatic rupture that lasted more than a year. The breakthrough followed a phone call on July 10 between Malian President Assimi Goita and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboun, after which both governments moved swiftly to restore ties.
Algerian President Tebboun ordered ambassador Kamel Ratib back to Bamako, while Mali's transitional government announced the return of its envoy to Algiers. The Algerian defence ministry reopened its airspace to all flights to and from Mali, and Bamako reciprocated by lifting its own airspace restrictions.
The crisis erupted in April 2025 when Algerian forces shot down a Malian armed reconnaissance drone near the border area of Tin Zaouatine. Algeria closed its airspace on April 7, 2025, prompting Mali to follow suit, and the two nations recalled their ambassadors in a standoff that also drew in Niger and Burkina Faso.