Paris expels 12 Algerian diplomats

ALGERIA, April 16 (YPA) – France’s Foreign Ministry said that 12 employees from the Algerian embassy and consulate have to leave French territories, recalling its ambassador to Algeria for consultations in response to similar measures by Algeria.

The Western media outlets reported on Tuesday that the French presidency stated that the diplomatic measure was a retaliatory measure amid the escalating dispute between the two countries.

On Monday, the Algerian Foreign Ministry confirmed in a statement that “Algeria tool a sovereign decision to declare 12 employees of the French embassy and its consular missions persona non grata, obligating them to leave the country within 48 hours.”

“The sovereign decision came in the wake of the ostentatious and defamatory arrest on a public road by French Interior Ministry agencies of an Algerian consular employee in France,” the statement.

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