Algeria Approves Troop Deployment to Niger in Break With Long-Held Doctrine

Algeria's parliament has approved a plan to send troops to neighbouring Niger, a significant departure from the North African country's long-standing policy of staying out of foreign military entanglements. The People's National Assembly, the lower house, ratified the deployment on Sunday, after the upper house, the Council of the Nation, had unanimously endorsed the proposal earlier the same day.

Authorities have not yet disclosed how many soldiers will go or when they will be sent. According to The Associated Press, the troops are meant to protect Algeria's economic and strategic interests, particularly oil facilities in Niger belonging to the state-owned energy company Sonatrach. The agency quoted Algerian Senator Belkacem Boulghiti.

The vote follows an earlier step taken nearly two months ago, when Algeria sent four Russian-made Sukhoi Su-30 jets, a transport aircraft and an aerial refuelling aircraft to Niamey. Algerian authorities described that move as a response to an attempt to destabilise Niger's military-led government.

Relations between the two countries have been warming. Niger's President Abdourahamane Tchiani visited Algeria in February, and his defence minister, Salifou Mody, later travelled to Algiers for talks on security cooperation. Ties had previously been strained by Algeria's condemnation of the 2023 coup in Niger. They worsened further after the Algerian army shot down a Malian drone last April, prompting Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso to recall their ambassadors from Algiers.

Algeria has traditionally avoided deploying its forces beyond its borders, guided by a foreign policy built on sovereignty and noninterference. Overseas missions have been exceptionally rare since its participation in the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. A 2020 constitutional revision set out the conditions for foreign deployments. Under Article 91, the president may authorise them with the backing of at least two-thirds of the members of each parliamentary chamber. The constitution also allows participation in peacekeeping missions run by the United Nations, the African Union and the Arab League.

The decision carries weight given Algeria's military strength. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute says the country spent more than $25bn on its armed forces in 2025, making it Africa's largest military spender. It also comes amid diplomatic friction: in September, Algeria cut ties with the United Arab Emirates, accusing Abu Dhabi of repeated "hostile" and "provocative actions" without detailing the incidents.

Instability in the Sahel is a direct concern for Algiers, which shares thousands of kilometres of border with Mali, Niger and Libya. The current crisis is traced in part to the fall of Muammar Gaddafi's government in 2011, after which weapons and fighters, including Tuareg who had served in Libya, spread into neighbouring states. That helped fuel a 2012 rebellion in northern Mali. Since 2012, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have together seen six military coups.

The foreign military landscape has also shifted. France withdrew its troops from Mali in August 2022, Burkina Faso in February 2023 and Niger in December 2023. Roughly 100 Russian personnel linked to Africa Corps arrived in Niamey in April 2024 to provide equipment and training. The United States pulled about 1,000 soldiers out of Niger in 2024 after the military government ended their security agreement.

For Algeria, the deployment could safeguard energy investments, including the planned Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline, which would carry Nigerian gas to Europe through Niger and Algeria. It could also deepen cooperation with Niger's government. "We are not sending our soldiers to wage war in Niger, but for a mission to secure economic infrastructure," Boulghiti told reporters after the vote, calling it "an adaptation of our doctrine to evolving circumstances."