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

ByOndiro Oganga and Chris Ewokor, BBC Africa.

Key points

• Algeria condemned the 2023 coup that ousted Niger's elected President, Mohamed Bazoum, and brought Gen Abdourahamane Tchiani to power.
• Algeria is to send troops to Niger in its first foreign deployment since sending forces to Egypt during the Arab-Israeli war in 1973.
• When Niger recalled its ambassador to Algiers, the deployment comes as the two neighbours rebuild ties after a diplomatic rift in 2025.
• Tensions rose again in 2025 after Algeria shot down a Malian drone near its border.
• Algeria has economic interests in Niger, including a planned gas pipeline that would carry Nigerian gas through Niger to Algeria.

As the country seeks backing against armed groups, some of which are linked to al-Qaeda or Islamic State, the deployment follows a visit to Algiers by Niger's defence minister.

Algeria has economic interests in Niger, including a planned gas pipeline that would carry Nigerian gas through Niger to Algeria. The troops are projected to protect energy facilities in northern Niger, near the Libyan border.

Algeria's upper house of parliament held an emergency session on Sunday to vote on the proposed deployment. According to AFP news agency, 148 of the 174 senators voted in favour. It was afterwards backed by the lower house of parliament.

Nevertheless, the timing and number of soldiers to be deployed have not been unveiled.

Meanwhile, the move would mark the first employ of a 2020 constitutional provision allowing overseas military deployments and a significant shift in Algeria's long-standing policy against sending forces abroad.

"We are not sending our soldiers to wage war in Niger, but for a mission to secure economic infrastructure, " Algerian senator Belkacem Boulghiti remarked to journalists after the vote.

Algeria's state-owned energy firm, Sonatrach, has additionally signed an agreement with Niger's petroleum ministry to explore for oil in the Kafra region. Two exploration wells are estimated to contain 168 million and 100 million barrels, respectively, Reuters documented.

Relations between Algeria and Niger have not always been smooth over recent years.

Tensions rose again in 2025 after Algeria shot down a Malian drone near its border. Niger recalled its ambassador to Algiers in solidarity with Mali, a close ally which is additionally under military rule.

Relations have since improved. Tchiani visited Algeria in February 2026, and in late August, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune sent fighter jets to Niger to support suppress a coup attempt and additionally donated four military helicopters. You may additionally be interested in.

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Go to BBCAfrica.com, external for more news from the African continent.

Taken together, the developments around algeria to send troops to Niger in first foreign deployment since 1973 point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.