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The Algerian army has announced that it shot down a Malian Akinci-type drone. «A unit of the air defense of the 6th Military Region detected and shot down an armed reconnaissance drone near the border town of Tin Zaoutine on the night of April 1, 2025, at midnight», the Algerian Ministry of Defense stated in a press release on Tuesday. The drone had «penetrated Algerian airspace by 2 kilometers» before being intercepted.
Later in the evening, the Malian government responded to the incident. «The General Staff of the Malian Armed Forces informs the public that on the night of March 31 to April 1, 2025, an unmanned aircraft belonging to the FAMa crashed near Tin-Zawatene, in the Kidal region. The aircraft was on a routine mission to monitor the territory as part of operations to secure people and property».
Meanwhile, the Azawad Liberation Front, a group opposed to the Malian regime, had claimed responsibility for downing a Malian drone 24 hours earlier while it was flying over Tin Zaoutine. Their statement was accompanied by photos showing the aircraft’s debris.
The drone incident echoes the circumstances surrounding the release of a Spanish national kidnapped on January 14 in Algeria. Both the Algerian government and the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) had claimed credit for securing the safe return of tourist Navarro Giane
