Algeria orders troops to Niger to protect energy infrastructure
President Abdelmadjid Tebboune ordered a deployment after parliament approved it, in what would be Algeria’s first overseas troop mission since 1973.
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune ordered troops to neighbouring Niger on Monday, 26 October 2026, to protect shared energy and economic interests, Al Jazeera reported, citing the presidency. Both chambers of Algeria’s parliament approved the deployment on Sunday. If carried out, it would be the country’s first overseas troop deployment since 1973.
The presidency said Niger’s authorities had requested military assistance. Algerian senator Belkacem Boulghiti said the soldiers would secure economic infrastructure, particularly Algerian oil facilities in Niger. Authorities have not announced how many troops will be sent or when the mission will begin.
The stated mission in Niger
‘We are not sending our soldiers to wage war in Niger, but for a mission to secure economic infrastructure,’ Boulghiti told reporters after the parliamentary vote, according to the BBC. The BBC said the decision followed a visit to Algiers by Niger’s defence minister as Niger sought support against armed groups, some linked to al-Qaeda or Islamic State.
Algeria’s state-owned energy company Sonatrach is working with Niger on the proposed Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline, intended to carry Nigerian gas through Niger to Algeria for export to Europe. The BBC also reported that Sonatrach had signed an agreement with Niger’s petroleum ministry to explore for oil in the Kafra region.
Parliament’s vote and overseas deployment rules
A 2020 constitutional reform allows Algeria’s president to authorise overseas deployments with approval from at least two-thirds of lawmakers in each parliamentary chamber. Euronews reported that 148 of 174 upper-house lawmakers were present and voted in favour on Sunday. The lower house said it approved the deployment by an absolute majority, without giving a count.
Algeria last sent troops abroad to support Egypt during the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. The Niger mission would mark a change in its longstanding reluctance to deploy soldiers beyond its borders.
Military cooperation between the neighbours had already increased. Euronews reported that Algeria donated four military helicopters to Niger and sent fighter jets and a refuelling aircraft to support Nigerien authorities during an attempted coup in August. Niger’s defence minister later visited Algiers, where he met Tebboune and Algeria’s army chief, according to Euronews.
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Sources and context
- Algeria’s president orders troop deployment to neighbouring NigerAl Jazeera; reporting credited to Al Jazeera Staff and Reuters
- Algeria to send troops to Niger in first foreign deployment since 1973BBC News; by Ondiro Oganga and Chris Ewokor, BBC Africa; vote count credited to AFP
- Algiers to send troops to Niger in first foreign deployment in decadesEuronews; by Clara Nabaa and Jeremiah Fisayo-Bambi
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.