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By Martin Goillandeau
The French army says its planes have been banned from Algerian airspace amid a diplomatic row between the two countries.
“This morning, by filing the flight plans for two of our planes, we learned that the Algerians were closing the overflight of their territory to all French military planes,” said Colonel Pascal Ianni, spokesperson for the French military. french military, CNN told CNN on Sunday.
He added that the measure would have no effect on “the operations and intelligence mission carried out by France in the Sahel region”.
France has troops in the Sahel through its counterterrorism mission, “Operation Barkhane”, operating across Chad, Mali, Niger, Mauritania and Burkina Faso. “This decision by the Algerian authorities only affects our logistics flow, and only marginally,” added Ianni.
Algeria recalled its ambassador to Paris on Saturday for consultations, after the country’s presidency said it rejected French “interference” after what it called “irresponsible” remarks attributed to French President Emmanuel Macron .
Macron would have made critical comments on Algeria, published Saturday by the French newspaper Le Monde, wondering if there was an Algerian nation before French colonization.
“The construction of Algeria as a nation is a phenomenon to watch. Was there an Algerian nation before French colonization? That is the question, ”said Macron, according to Le Monde.
According to Le Monde, Macron made these remarks during a lunch at the Elysee Palace, where he met 18 young people, descendants of those who lived through the Algerian war.
“In light of this unacceptable situation following these irresponsible remarks, the president (of Algeria) has decided to immediately recall the Algerian ambassador to France for consultations,” the Algerian presidency said in a statement.
CNN has contacted the Algerian Defense Ministry and the Élysée Palace for comment.
The-CNN-Wire
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