Algeria votes to send troops to Niger for oil protection

Algerian lawmakers approved a plan to deploy soldiers into neighboring Niger.

The People's National Assembly ratified the proposal on Sunday. The Council of the Nation had already voted unanimously in favor of the mission earlier that day. Officials have not yet released the specific number of troops or the timeline for their arrival.

The decision marks a departure from the North African nation's traditional stance on military nonintervention. Algerian authorities stated that the deployment aims to protect economic and strategic interests. Specifically, the troops will guard oil facilities owned by Sonatrach, the state-owned energy company.

Senator Belkacem Boulghiti spoke to reporters after the vote. He said the mission is not a war effort but a move to secure economic infrastructure. He described the action as an adaptation of doctrine to meet new challenges in the Sahel region.

Relations between Algiers and Niamey have improved in recent months. President Abdourahamane Tchiani of Niger visited Algeria in February. Defense Minister Salifou Mody followed in later months to discuss security cooperation. These visits occurred after a diplomatic crisis in April, when Algeria shot down a Malian drone. That incident led Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso to recall their ambassadors from Algiers.

Algeria has spent more than $25 billion on its armed forces in 2025, making it the largest military spender in Africa, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. A 2020 constitutional revision allows the president to authorize overseas deployments if two-thirds of each parliamentary chamber approves them. This legal framework supports the current move to station troops abroad.

The regional security environment has shifted significantly. France withdrew its troops from Niger in December 2023. The United States pulled approximately 1,000 soldiers from the country in 2024. Russia has stepped in to fill some of that space, with personnel from the Africa Corps arriving in Niamey in April 2024 to provide training and equipment.

Algeria shares long borders with Mali, Niger, and Libya. Instability in the Sahel has historically threatened the country's security. The deployment aims to safeguard assets such as the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline, which is planned to transport gas from Nigeria to Europe through Niger and Algeria.