PARIS: France`s President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday decided to expel 12 Algerian consular and diplomatic officials and recalled the French ambassador in Algiers, his office said, as a spat escalates between both countries.

The retaliatory measure came after the former French colony on Sunday ordered 12 French officials from the interior ministry to leave within 48 hours.

President Emmanuel Macron`s office said the 12 French officials kicked out of Algeria were `on their way to France`. It called on Algiers to `resume dialogue`, saying the Algerian authorities had taken `responsibility for the sudden degradation of our bilateral relations`.

It said it was `stunned` that relations had taken such a turn just two weeks after a phone call between Algeria`s President Abde1madjid Tebboune and Macron in a bid to repair ties.

Relations between Paris and Algiers came under strain last year whenFrance recognised Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara, where Algeria has long backed the pro-independence Polisario Front.

Relations soured further when Algeria arrested the French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal in November on national security charges, after he told a French far-right media outlet that Morocco`s territory was truncated in favour of Algeria during French colonial rule.

Algeria`s foreign ministry said it had declared the 12 persona non grata after the arrest in France of an Algerian consular official.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot had earlier said the expulsion orders were linked to the arrest of three Algerian nationals in France.

`In this difficult context, France will defend its interests and continue to demand that Algeria fully fulfil its obligations towards it, in particular with regards to our national security and cooperation on migration, the Elysee added.-AFP