Dar es Salaam, April 14 -- FRANCE: FRANCE says Algeria asked 12 of its diplomatic officials to leave after French police arrested an Algerian consular official. The diplomatic row comes as Paris seeks to repair ties with its former colony.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Monday that Paris would take reprisal measures if Algeria seeks the expulsion of 12 French officials amid a diplomatic spat linked to the arrest of three Algerian nationals in France.

Barrot said that the Algerian authorities had demanded that the 12 French officials leave Algeria within 48 hours.

“I am asking Algerian authorities to abandon these expulsion measures if the decision to send back our officials is maintained, we ...