Algeria senate approves sending troops to Niger: Senator

Algeria’s upper house of parliament on Sunday voted to approve a proposal to deploy troops to neighboring Niger, a senator speaking on condition of anonymity said.

The legislator said 148 senators in the 174-seat body voted in favor of the move, which sought to “protect energy facilities in Niger.”

The parliament’s lower house is set to vote on the proposal later in the day.

The rare move from Algeria comes as the two countries strengthen security ties after moving earlier this year to repair strained relations and following a thwarted mutiny in Niger in August.

The neighbors, who share a 960-kilometre (600-mile) desert border, have agreed to deepen cooperation against jihadist violence, cross-border crime and trafficking.

The move also comes months after Algiers gifted four military helicopters to Niamey, which faces persistent attacks by armed groups, including in areas near its border with Algeria.

Earlier this month, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune signaled the possibility of military involvement in the Sahel country.

“We will protect Niger no matter what,” he said in a televised address on October 3. “There are countries, which I will not name, that have conspired against (Niger). We stand by its side.”

“Today, we have interests,” Tebboune then said. “We have reached agreements (with Niger) in the oil, mining and other sectors, and some are seeking to destroy all of this overnight.”

Additionally, Algeria in June also inaugurated a 40-megawatt power plant intended to supply electricity to Niamey and surrounding areas.

Algeria and Niger’s relations had been strained for months following Algeria’s downing last year of a drone from Mali.

The incident triggered a diplomatic row, with Niger joining fellow junta-led allies Mali and Burkina Faso in recalling its ambassador from Algiers.

Niger has been run by General Tiani since a coup in July 2023 that toppled the elected president Mohamed Bazoum, who has been detained ever since.