Algeria officially severed diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates on September 10, 2026, ordering the UAE ambassador to leave the country within 48 hours.
Algiers accused the Gulf country of "provocative and hostile acts" and closed its airspace to Emirati civilian and military aircraft, although commercial flights will continue until the end of the year.
The dispute has been building for months, fueled by diverging stances on regional issues such as Western Sahara, where Algeria supports the pro-independence Polisario Front and the UAE backs Morocco's sovereignty claim.
In the Sahel region, military coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have disrupted Algeria's traditional diplomatic mediation efforts, while the UAE has actively introduced capital and commercial projects to the new military governments.
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune previously referred to the UAE as a "statelet" seeking to destabilize countries in the region, citing Libya and Sudan as examples.
Furthermore, the UAE's 2020 normalization of ties with Israel stands in stark contrast to Algeria's strict non-normalization policy and strong pro-Palestinian position.
Abu Dhabi expressed regret over the diplomatic break, stating it hoped the decision would eventually be reversed.
