The Algerian government announced it has severed diplomatic ties with the United Arab Emirates and banned all commercial and military aircraft from its airspace.

“Faced with the increasingly provocative or hostile actions emanating from the United Arab Emirates, Algeria has exercised a high degree of restraint and a strong sense of responsibility,” a statement released on September 9 said. “Despite these repeated warnings, the United Arab Emirates continued to persist in these actions, which reached a point where they could no longer be considered acceptable or tolerable within relations between two sovereign states, or left without a response,” the statement said.

The UAE issued a short statement on its X account saying, “The UAE expresses hope that this decision will be temporary,” adding that it wanted to preserve the “fraternal ties between the two brotherly peoples.”

The Algerian statement did not give details of what hostile actions and provocations the UAE is accused of. Nonetheless, it is well known that Algeria has accused the UAE of being involved in terrorism and destabilization across the region, including against the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), which includes Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, as well as Libya and Sudan. In Sudan, it is accused of supporting the brutal Rapid Support Force, which has been accused of conducting genocide against ethnic minorities in the Darfur region of Sudan. In recent months, Algeria has moved strongly to lend economic and military support to Niger and other AES states. In August, Algeria deployed 4 powerful SU30 jet fighters along with refueling and transport aircraft to support the anti-terror effort.