Algeria cuts diplomatic ties with UAE and gives ambassador 48 hours to leave

Diplomatic rupture and 48-hour expulsion order

Algeria announced on Thursday, 10 September 2026, that it had severed diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates after exhausting all available means to maintain bilateral ties. The decision was announced on Algerian state television and confirmed through an official statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs released by the state news agency APS. Algerian diplomatic officials summoned the UAE ambassador in Algiers, Jussif Saif al-Ali, to inform him directly of the severance. The ambassador was notified that Emirati diplomats, embassy personnel, and their families must leave Algerian territory within 48 hours. By Thursday afternoon, the UAE government in Abu Dhabi had issued no immediate public statement regarding the expulsion.

Allegations of regional interference and destabilisation

The Algerian Foreign Ministry justified the move by citing an accumulation of provocative and hostile actions from Abu Dhabi. In its statement, the ministry noted that Algeria had exercised restraint and previously communicated warnings regarding the serious consequences of what it called regrettable and unjustifiable behaviour. Algiers has repeatedly accused the Gulf state of interfering across North Africa and the Sahel region. Specifically, Algerian officials point to Emirati backing for military governments in Mali and Niger, asserting that Abu Dhabi provides support to those administrations to undermine Algerian influence along its southern border. Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has also accused the UAE of meddling in Algeria's domestic elections.

Tebboune previously criticised Abu Dhabi during a televised interview broadcast in July, describing the UAE as a tiny state exerting a negative influence on regional stability.

All that Algeria wants is for this state to stay away, so that blood does not flow here.

Tebboune added during the broadcast that Algiers would have severed relations earlier had it not sought to prevent deeper divisions across the Arab world.

Geopolitical friction over Israel and Western Sahara

Bilateral tensions between the two Arab League member states have grown over contrasting diplomatic alignments in the region. Algeria views with displeasure the UAE's decision in 2020 to normalise diplomatic relations with Israel, a step subsequently taken by Morocco. Relations between Algiers and Abu Dhabi further deteriorated over the UAE's close ties with Morocco, Algeria's regional rival. A particular point of contention remains Abu Dhabi's explicit diplomatic backing for Moroccan territorial claims over Western Sahara, which directly contradicts Algerian policy in northwest Africa. Algerian officials stated that their national interests in the region collided too frequently with those of the United Arab Emirates. These opposing alignments sustained years of diplomatic friction prior to the formal rupture.

Exceeding the limits of sovereign relations

The Algerian Foreign Ministry stated that Emirati conduct had crossed the boundaries of what is acceptable between sovereign nations and could not go unanswered. Algerian authorities reiterated that they had exhausted all diplomatic channels before resolving to terminate relations. Both nations share an Islamic and Arab identity and maintain seats in the Arab League, yet ideological and geopolitical rifts have dismantled formal communication between the two capitals. In its communique, the foreign ministry emphasized that Algeria had shown significant patience before concluding that further diplomatic engagement was impossible. The departure of Ambassador Jussif Saif al-Ali and embassy personnel marks an end to official ties between Algiers and Abu Dhabi. The Emirati diplomatic mission is currently preparing its departure ahead of the 48-hour deadline set by Algerian authorities.