Algeria Votes to Send Forces Across Border to Guard Energy Assets

Algeria's parliament voted on Sunday to send soldiers into neighboring Niger, marking a departure from the country's long-held stance against overseas military intervention. The mission centers on protecting oil installations belonging to Sonatrach, Algeria's state-owned energy company.

The People's National Assembly, Algeria's lower house, ratified the proposal on Sunday. The upper house, the Council of the Nation, had approved the measure earlier that same day with unanimous support. Authorities have not disclosed the number of soldiers involved or the timeline for their deployment.

The authorization follows a series of diplomatic developments between Algiers and Niamey. Niger's President Abdourahamane Tchiani visited Algeria in February, and his defence minister, Salifou Mody, traveled to Algiers months later to discuss security cooperation. Relations had previously cooled after Algeria condemned the 2023 coup in Niger and after the Algerian army shot down a Malian drone last April, prompting Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso to recall their ambassadors from Algiers.

The vote also follows a military show of force in the region. Nearly two months ago, Algeria sent four Russian-made Sukhoi Su-30 jets, a transport aircraft and an aerial refuelling aircraft to Niamey. Algerian authorities said the move responded to an attempt to destabilize Niger's military-led government.

The deployment rests on Article 91 of Algeria's constitution, revised in 2020. That provision allows the president to authorize missions abroad with backing from at least two-thirds of the members of each chamber of parliament. Algeria's constitution also covers participation in peacekeeping operations under the United Nations, the African Union and the Arab League. The country spent more than $25bn on its armed forces in 2025, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, making it Africa's largest military spender.

Algeria shares thousands of kilometres of borders with Mali, Niger and Libya. Since 2012, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have recorded six military coups combined: three in Mali, two in Burkina Faso and one in Niger. France withdrew its troops from Mali in August 2022, Burkina Faso in February 2023 and Niger in December 2023. The United States pulled approximately 1,000 soldiers from Niger in 2024 after the military government ended their security cooperation agreement. Around 100 Russian military personnel arrived in Niamey in April 2024.

Senator Belkacem Boulghiti said troops would be sent "to protect Algeria's economic and strategic interests, particularly its oil facilities in Niger." He told reporters after the vote: "We are not sending our soldiers to wage war in Niger, but for a mission to secure economic infrastructure. It is simply an adaptation of our doctrine to evolving circumstances so we can rise to the new challenges imposed by the situation in the Sahel region." The deployment would also secure the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline, which is designed to carry Nigerian gas to Europe through Niger and Algeria.

The number of troops and their deployment schedule remain undisclosed.