Mali-Algeria Relations Tested in New ICJ Dispute
The Hague: Mali has lodged a case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against neighbour Algeria over the alleged destruction of a Malian reconnaissance drone earlier this year. The filing accuses Algerian Defence Forces of downing the drone inside Malian territory during a surveillance mission on the night of 31 March to 1 April, 2025. Mali contends that the incident amounted to an unlawful use of force in violation of international law.
According to its application submitted on September 16, Mali views the alleged action by Algeria as a breach of the United Nations Charter, the Constitutive Act of the African Union, and the African Union’s Non‑Aggression and Common Defence Pact. The government in Bamako described the episode as a “hostile act of aggression” and asked the Court to exercise jurisdiction under Article 40 of its Statute and Article 38, paragraph 5, of its Rules.
The ICJ confirmed today that Mali’s application has been transmitted to Algeria’s government, but under its procedures, the Court cannot proceed unless Algeria consents to jurisdiction in the case.
Beyond the immediate dispute, the case underscores a complex and shifting relationship between Mali and Algeria, two Sahelian neighbours whose shared frontier has long been both a link and a fault line.
Algeria has historically positioned itself as a mediator in Mali’s crises. It hosted the 2015 peace deal between Bamako and northern armed groups—known as the Algiers Accord—designed to cement long‑term stability. Yet Mali’s current leaders have grown increasingly wary of Algeria’s role, seeing it as unwelcome external influence on matters of sovereignty.
Tensions have risen at a time when Mali is recalibrating its alliances, distancing itself from traditional security partners and asserting more control over its counter-insurgency operations. Surveillance and reconnaissance have become central to these efforts, making the alleged loss of a drone not only a tactical setback but, in Mali’s account, a symbol of infringement on its sovereignty.
Algeria, for its part, faces its own security concerns, wary of spillover from Mali’s persistent instability. With vast desert borders to police, Algerian authorities have long viewed developments in northern Mali with unease, combining mediation efforts with military vigilance. This dual role—both mediator and regional power—has fuelled suspicion in Bamako that Algeria pursues its own security interests at Mali’s expense.
Disputes between African states have increasingly reached The Hague in recent decades. The ICJ has resolved territorial and boundary cases involving Burkina Faso and Niger, Cameroon and Nigeria, as well as Somalia and Kenya. While most concerned borders, Mali’s case is unusual in its framing of an alleged military strike as an act of aggression engaging global and regional norms against the use of force.
Should Algeria accept ICJ jurisdiction, the case could become a high-profile test of how international law addresses disputes involving military technology, sovereignty, and regional security. If Algeria declines, the legal action may instead serve as a diplomatic signal—a warning that Mali intends to push back against what it sees as violations of its autonomy.
For now, as the ICJ awaits Algeria’s response, the dispute remains in procedural limbo. But it has already highlighted the uneasy balance between two neighbours whose relations straddle cooperation, competition, and mistrust. How the case unfolds could influence not only their bilateral ties but also the wider search for stability across the Sahel.
– global bihari bureau
