The Algerian government has banned military plans of France from using its airspace, the French Army said on Sunday, amid the diplomatic crisis triggered by a visa issue and, reported critical comments from the French President Emmanuel Macron.
France’s jets regularly fly over Algerian airspace to reach the Sahel region of western Africa, where its personnel are helping to fight jihadist insurgents as part of its Barkhane operation.
A spokesperson for the French military said that Algeria had closed its airspace for two flights, but it would have no major consequences for operation operations in the Sahel region.
“This morning when we filed fight plans for two planes, we learned that the Algerians had stopped flights over their territory by French military planes,” the spokesperson told AEP.
The move heightened tensions that had already flared on Saturday when the Algerian government recalled its ambassador to France.
