Algeria banned French military aircraft from entering its airspace, the French army reported Sunday. This comes as another Algerian step in response to French President Emmanuel Macron's disrespect to Algeria's sovereignty and history, in addition to the dispute between Algiers and Paris over visas. Macron's comments and the visa row resulted in a diplomatic crisis between the two countries.

France's military planes regularly fly through Algeria's airspace to reach the West African Sahel region, where they carry out military missions as part of France's Barkhane operation.

Algeria's decision "does not affect our operations or intelligence missions" carried out in the Sahel, a French army spokesman, Colonel Pascal Ianni, said.

This decision heightened tensions between the two nations, and it constitutes the latest step in this diplomatic crisis, which saw Algeria recalling Saturday its ambassador to France over "inadmissible interference" in its affairs. Algeria rejected France's interference in its internal affairs hours after recalling its ambassador to Paris.