Algeria has severed diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates, ordering the UAE ambassador to leave the country within 48 hours following what Algiers termed a series of unacceptable and hostile actions.
The Algerian Foreign Ministry announced the move after summoning Abu Dhabi’s envoy, stating that it had exhausted all potential avenues to preserve bilateral ties. Officials declared that the UAE’s repeated actions had reached a point that could no longer be tolerated, despite prior warnings from the Algerian government. The UAE Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The diplomatic breach marks the culmination of years of escalating friction driven by stark foreign policy divides across North Africa and the Middle East:
Algeria strongly opposes normalisation with Israel, putting it at direct odds with the UAE, which established formal ties with Israel under the 2020 Abraham Accords.
Abu Dhabi explicitly supports Morocco’s claim of sovereignty over Western Sahara and maintains a consulate in the territory. Algeria, by contrast, heavily backs the Polisario Front independence movement against its regional rival, Morocco.
Tensions have mounted over competing geopolitical interests in the Sahel region, where the UAE has forged close partnerships with military governments that have grown increasingly hostile toward Algiers.
The formal break aligns with previous public friction between the two nations. Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune signaled the rift last year when he praised Algeria’s “brotherly” relations with nearly all Gulf Cooperation Council nations while accusing an unnamed state of meddling in domestic affairs and actively sowing regional instability.
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