Algeria to Send Troops to Niger, First Deployment Abroad Since 1973
Parliament backed the move, which is meant to protect energy facilities in northern Niger. Timing and troop numbers have not been announced.
Algeria is to send troops to Niger, its first foreign deployment since it sent forces to Egypt during the Arab-Israeli war in 1973. The decision follows a visit to Algiers by Niger's defence minister, as Niger seeks support against armed groups, some of them linked to al-Qaeda or Islamic State.
Algeria's upper house of parliament held an emergency session on Sunday, and 148 of the 174 senators voted in favour, according to AFP news agency. The lower house backed the plan later. Neither the timing nor the number of soldiers has been announced.
The troops are expected to protect energy facilities in northern Niger, near the Libyan border. Algeria has economic interests there, including a planned gas pipeline that would carry Nigerian gas through Niger to Algeria. "We are not sending our soldiers to wage war in Niger, but for a mission to secure economic infrastructure," Algerian senator Belkacem Boulghiti told reporters after the vote.
The deployment would be the first use of a 2020 constitutional provision allowing overseas military deployments. It also marks a significant shift in Algeria's long-standing policy against sending forces abroad.
Ties rebuilt after a rift
The neighbours' relations have not always been smooth. Algeria condemned the 2023 coup that ousted Niger's elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, and brought Gen Abdourahamane Tchiani to power. Tensions rose again in 2025 after Algeria shot down a Malian drone near its border. Niger recalled its ambassador to Algiers in solidarity with Mali, a close ally that is also under military rule.
Ties have improved since. Tchiani visited Algeria in February 2026. In late August, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune sent fighter jets to Niger to help suppress a coup attempt, and he donated four military helicopters.
Algeria's state-owned company Sonatrach has signed an agreement with Niger's petroleum ministry to explore for oil in the Kafra region. Two exploration wells there are estimated to contain 168 million and 100 million barrels respectively, Reuters reported.
Source: BBC News