The Algerian Parliament, convened in Algiers, approved on Sunday, October 25, the deployment of units of the National People’s Army to Niger. The resolution adopted by both chambers paves the way for what would become the first deployment of Algerian troops abroad since the military support provided to Egypt in 1973.
The Council of the Nation approved the presidential notification by 148 votes out of 148, according to its official statement. The document submitted by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on October 22 is based on Articles 91 and 136 of the Constitution. The National People’s Assembly had previously secured the two-thirds majority required for an external operation.
No unit had yet been officially deployed Sunday evening, and the authorities have not released either the personnel numbers or the schedule. Reuters reports that the project targets Madama, in northern Niger near the Libyan border, at the site of a former French base used during Operation Barkhane.
Senator Belkacem Boulghiti described the mission as an operation aimed at protecting Algeria’s economic and strategic interests, notably its oil facilities in Niger. He told the press that soldiers would not be sent to fight, a statement that defines the announced mandate without prejudging its modalities on the ground.
The Council of the Nation also links the decision to the protection of energy interests and the implementation of a bilateral agreement concluded with Niamey. The public company Sonatrach is involved in the Trans-Saharan gas pipeline project, designed to transport gas from Nigeria to Algeria via Niger, and also conducts oil exploration activities in that country.
The vote comes after a rapprochement between Algiers and Niamey, despite the tensions that followed the 2023 Nigerien coup d’état and the 2025 regional diplomatic crisis. Nigerien President Abdourahamane Tiani visited Algiers in February, while Niger’s Minister of Defense, Salifou Mody, was received by Abdelmadjid Tebboune on October 13 with a delegation.
The 2020 constitutional revision made it possible to send Algerian forces outside the national territory subject to the approval of both chambers. The vote on October 25 marks the first activation of this provision for an operation announced in Niger.
