Algeria votes to send troops to Niger, first mission since 1973

Algiers — Algeria has voted to send troops to Niger, the country's first foreign military deployment since it sent forces to Egypt during the Arab-Israeli war in 1973, the BBC reported. The soldiers are expected to protect energy facilities in northern Niger, near the Libyan border, as Niger's government seeks support against armed groups, some of which are linked to al-Qaeda or Islamic State.

Algeria's upper house held an emergency session on Sunday to vote on the proposal. According to AFP news agency, 148 of the 174 senators voted in favour, and the lower house later backed the move. Neither the timing of the deployment nor the number of soldiers has been announced.

The mission would be the first use of a 2020 constitutional provision allowing overseas deployments — a significant shift for a country with a long-standing policy against sending forces abroad. Algerian officials framed the operation in economic terms. "We are not sending our soldiers to wage war in Niger, but for a mission to secure economic infrastructure," senator Belkacem Boulghiti told reporters after the vote.

The economic stake is concrete. Algeria has interests in a planned pipeline that would carry Nigerian gas through Niger to Algeria. State-owned energy firm Sonatrach has also signed an agreement with Niger's petroleum ministry to explore for oil in the Kafra region; Reuters reported that two exploration wells are estimated to contain 168 million and 100 million barrels, respectively.

The deployment follows a visit to Algiers by Niger's defence minister and marks another step in a rapid rapprochement. Algeria condemned the 2023 coup that ousted Niger's elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, and brought Gen Abdourahamane Tchiani to power. Ties frayed again in 2025 when Niger recalled its ambassador in solidarity with Mali after Algeria shot down a Malian drone near the border. Relations have since improved: Tchiani visited Algeria in February, and in late August President Abdelmadjid Tebboune sent fighter jets to help suppress a coup attempt in Niger and donated four military helicopters.

What to watch next is the detail Algiers has yet to give: the size of the force and its arrival date. Those figures will indicate whether this is a limited guard mission around pipelines and exploration sites, or the start of a deeper Algerian security role in the Sahel.