Algeria to send troops to Niger in first foreign deployment since 1973

Algeria's parliament approved on Sunday, 25 October, a resolution authorising the deployment of National Army units to Niger, the first foreign troop deployment since Algeria sent forces to support Egypt in the 1973 war. The upper house reported 148 of 174 members present voting in favour, and the lower house also approved by an absolute majority. Reports say the troops will protect energy facilities, including Sonatrach oil projects in the Kafra region and the planned Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline, while Algeria's senator Belkacem Boulghiti said the mission was to secure economic infrastructure, not to wage war. Reuters reported the deployment site as Madama in northern Niger near the Libyan border, and a Niger security source said no troops had yet been officially deployed. Algerian authorities have not announced troop numbers or a start date. The move follows ties strained by Algeria's 2025 downing of a Malian drone and Niger's recall of its ambassador, and a thwarted August coup in Niger, after which Algeria sent fighter jets and helicopters. Analysts quoted by Al Jazeera and France 24 described it as a shift in Algerian policy.

Where accounts differ. Reuters places the deployment at Madama near the Libyan border and says the troops would be stationed there, while Al Jazeera Arabic and Euronews focus on protecting Sonatrach oil installations and BBC and France 24 do not name a site, leaving the location of the deployment unconfirmed across the outlets.

Al Jazeera ArabicThe Straits TimesFrance 24EuronewsBBC News

Written by AI from these outlets' articles: facts they report, claims attributed, numbers checked against the sources. It may still contain errors; read the originals.