Algeria Closes its Airspace to France Over Escalating Diplomatic Row

On Sunday, Algeria closed its airspace to France over comments reportedly made by French President Emmanuel Macron, which have caused an escalating diplomatic row. The airspace’s closure could affect the French military that uses the Algerian airspace to support its forces in the Sahel.

In an interview with the AFP news agency, French Armed Forces spokesman, Colonel Pascal Ianni said that “This morning when we filed flight plans for two planes, we learned that the Algerians had stopped flights over their territory by French military planes.”

Ianni added that the closure of Algerian airspace “does not have major consequences for operations or intelligence missions” carried out in the Sahel. However, he did say that the closure of Algerian airspace had “slightly impacted” supply flights in the Sahel, where French troops are battling Islamic jihadists.