Algeria to sever diplomatic ties with UAE

What the report says

Algeria has announced it is severing diplomatic ties with the United Arab Emirates, according to a statement from the Algerian foreign ministry reported by BBC Africa. The ministry said the move followed what it described as "provocative or hostile" actions by the UAE, but it did not spell out the specific reasons publicly. It said it had already tried other means to preserve the relationship before deciding to act.

BBC Africa reported that the UAE ambassador was summoned to the ministry and informed of the decision, with 48 hours given to comply. There was no direct official response from Abu Dhabi in the article, though Anwar Gargash, a senior diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, posted comments on X stressing that diplomacy should be handled through clarity and rational interests rather than vague signals. He did not name Algeria directly in the post.

The two countries have had increasingly strained relations in recent years amid wider regional disagreements. BBC Africa noted that Algeria opposes normalisation with Israel, while the UAE has established ties with Israel under the US-brokered Abraham Accords. The report also pointed to differing positions on Western Sahara, where the UAE backs Morocco’s sovereignty claim and Algeria supports the Polisario Front. The rupture matters because it adds to broader tensions among North African and Gulf states over security, diplomacy and regional alignments.