ALGERIA’S UPPER HOUSE GREENLIGHTS TROOP DEPLOYMENT TO NIGER

Mon 26 October 2026:

Upper and lower houses back presidential plan amid rise of insurgency in Sahel; units to guard oil facilities and strategic projects

Algeria’s parliament has approved the deployment of People’s National Army units to neighboring Niger, marking the country’s first overseas military mission since the 1973 October War (known in Israel as the Yom Kippur War). The move aims to protect oil and energy infrastructure at a time of heightened insecurity across the Sahel.

The Council of the Nation, the upper house, unanimously approved the presidential request during an emergency closed-door session on Sunday, with 148 votes in favor. The People’s National Assembly, the lower house, subsequently gave its approval by an absolute majority of attending members, satisfying the constitutional requirement of a two-thirds majority in each chamber under Article 91.

The deployed units are expected to focus on securing oil facilities and related economic projects in Niger. These include assets linked to Algeria’s state energy company Sonatrach, such as operations around the Kafra oil field in northern Niger and progress on the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline (TSGP). The multi-billion-dollar pipeline project, designed to carry up to 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually from Nigeria through Niger to Algeria’s Hassi R’Mel hub for export to Europe, has seen construction begin on the Algerian segment, with preparatory work advancing on the Nigerien stretch.

The parliamentary votes followed a visit last week by Niger’s Defence Minister, General Salifou Modi, who met President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and Army Chief of Staff General Saïd Chanegriha. The two sides signed a military cooperation protocol whose details were not disclosed.

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Support after August unrest

The decision builds on earlier Algerian military assistance. Earlier this month, Tebboune confirmed that Algeria had sent fighter jets to Niger in late August to help thwart a “coup attempt” that shook the capital, Niamey. The Ministry of Defence stated it had dispatched four Sukhoi Su-30 aircraft in two patrols, accompanied by an air-to-air refuelling plane. The warplanes were deployed at the request of Nigerien authorities on “a mission to support the Nigerien army in confronting an attempt to destabilise the brotherly state of Niger,” the ministry said on August 30. Loyalist forces, with support from Russia’s Africa Corps, ultimately contained the mutiny.

Relations between Algeria and Niger have improved markedly in recent months across political, diplomatic, military, and economic spheres after a period of tension. The two countries share a long desert border and have deepened cooperation against cross-border threats.

Rising insurgency across the Sahel

The deployment occurs against the backdrop of a prolonged and intensifying insurgency in the central Sahel, centered on Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. Groups including Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an al-Qaeda affiliate, and the Islamic State in the Sahel (ISSP/ISGS) have expanded operations, conducted high-profile attacks, and clashed with each other for territorial control, particularly in the Liptako-Gourma tri-border region. Violence has included assaults on military positions, civilian communities, and economic targets, contributing to state fragility, population displacement, and threats to infrastructure.

In 2026, the conflict has seen further escalation, with coordinated offensives, heavy casualties in inter-group fighting, and pressure on security forces in western and northern Niger. Military juntas in the Alliance of Sahel States have turned to partners such as Russia while Western counterterrorism missions have withdrawn. Algeria’s step represents a notable shift from its traditional policy of non-intervention abroad, driven by the need to safeguard border security and growing energy investments vulnerable to militant activity.

Officials have framed the mission as limited to protecting facilities rather than engaging in broader combat operations. No timeline or exact troop numbers have been publicly released.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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