Algeria is preparing to deploy troops to Niger, marking its first foreign military mission since contributing forces to Egypt during the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.
The decision follows a visit to Algiers by Niger’s defence minister, as Niamey seeks assistance combating armed groups, including affiliates of al-Qaeda and Islamic State.
Algeria holds significant economic stakes in Niger, notably a proposed trans-Saharan gas pipeline designed to transport Nigerian gas through Niger to the Algerian coast. The deployed forces are expected to safeguard energy installations in northern Niger, near the Libyan border.
The deployment signals a deepening reconciliation between the neighbours after a 2025 diplomatic rupture prompted Niger to recall its ambassador from Algiers.
Algeria’s upper house of parliament convened an emergency session Sunday to authorize the mission, with 148 of 174 senators voting in favour, according to AFP. The lower house subsequently endorsed the measure.
Details regarding the deployment timeline and troop numbers remain undisclosed.
The move invokes a 2020 constitutional amendment permitting overseas military operations, representing a historic departure from Algeria’s longstanding doctrine of non-intervention abroad.
“We are not sending our soldiers to wage war in Niger, but to secure economic infrastructure,” Senator Belkacem Boulghiti stated following the vote.
Concurrently, Algeria’s state energy firm Sonatrach signed an accord with Niger’s petroleum ministry to explore the Kafra basin, where two wells are estimated to hold 168 million and 100 million barrels of oil respectively, Reuters reported.
Bilateral relations have faced significant strain in recent years.
Algiers condemned the 2023 coup that toppled elected President Mohamed Bazoum and installed General Abdourahamane Tchiani.
Tensions flared again in 2025 after Algeria downed a Malian drone near the shared border, prompting Niger to withdraw its ambassador in solidarity with Mali, a fellow military-led state.
A thaw began with Tchiani’s visit to Algeria in February 2026. By late August, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune dispatched fighter jets to help foil a coup attempt in Niger and donated four military helicopters.
