Algeria Moves Troops Into Niger to Tackle Insurgency in Sahel

By Emiola Osifeso

Algeria has deployed its first military convoy into neighbouring Niger, marking the North African nation’s first foreign troop deployment since 1973, as the two countries deepen security cooperation to confront a growing insurgency linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group across the Sahel region.

The deployment, approved by Algeria’s parliament on October 25, signals a significant shift in Algiers’ long-standing non-interventionist military doctrine and underscores its determination to protect strategic economic interests, particularly energy infrastructure, in a region where stability has deteriorated sharply following a series of military coups and the withdrawal of Western forces.

Algeria’s upper house of parliament, the Council of the Nation, voted 148 to 26 in favour of the deployment during an emergency session on Sunday, October 25, 2026, followed by unanimous ratification by the lower house, the People’s National Assembly . The move represents the first practical invocation of Article 91 of Algeria’s revised 2020 constitution, which permits the president to authorise overseas troop deployments provided the decision receives backing from at least two-thirds of members in each parliamentary chamber .

The resolution authorises the deployment of National Army units to Madama in northern Niger, near the Libyan border, at the site of a former French base used during Operation Barkhane . Algerian authorities have not disclosed the size of the force or a precise timetable for its arrival.

Algerian officials have been careful to frame the deployment not as a combat mission but as a security operation aimed at safeguarding the country’s economic assets. Senator Belkacem Boulghiti told reporters after the vote that troops would be sent “to protect Algeria’s economic and strategic interests, particularly its oil facilities in Niger” .

“We are not sending our soldiers to wage war in Niger, but for a mission to secure economic infrastructure,” Boulghiti said. “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” .

At the heart of these economic interests is the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline (TSGP), a major energy project designed to transport natural gas from Nigeria through Niger to Algeria for onward export to European markets . Algeria’s state-owned energy giant Sonatrach has also signed a production-sharing agreement with Niger’s petroleum ministry for the Kafra region, where two exploration wells hold estimated reserves of 168 million and 100 million barrels respectively .

The deployment follows a visit to Algiers by Niger’s Defence Minister Salifou Mody on October 20, during which the two sides discussed security cooperation . In September, Algeria’s Minister of Hydrocarbons, Mohamed Arkab, led a high-level delegation to Niamey to review progress on the TSGP and other joint energy projects .

Diplomatic Thaw After Years of Tension

The military deployment caps a rapid improvement in relations between Algiers and Niamey, which had deteriorated sharply in recent years. Algeria initially condemned the July 2023 coup that brought Niger’s current military leaders to power . Relations worsened further in April 2025 when Niger, alongside Mali and Burkina Faso—all members of the Alliance of Sahel States—recalled their ambassadors from Algeria after Algiers shot down a Malian drone near the border .

The diplomatic trajectory reversed earlier this year. Niger’s President Abdourahamane Tiani visited Algiers in February 2026, and in late August, Algeria sent four Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets, a military transport aircraft and an aerial refuelling aircraft to Niamey following what Algerian authorities described as an attempt to destabilise Niger’s government . Niger’s ruling council described the gesture as “the demonstration of the strategic support”.

Niger, like its neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso, has been battling insurgents linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group for over a decade. The security crisis traces back in part to the 2011 collapse of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in Libya, which led to weapons and armed fighters—including Tuareg who had served in Libya’s army—spreading across the Sahel.

Since 2012, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have experienced six military coups, many unfolding against a backdrop of deteriorating security as military leaders accused civilian governments of failing to contain increasingly powerful armed groups .

The regional security landscape has been further reshaped by the departure of Western forces. France withdrew its troops from Mali in August 2022, Burkina Faso in February 2023, and Niger in December 2023, where approximately 1,500 French soldiers had been stationed . The United States also withdrew roughly 1,000 military personnel from Niger in 2024 after the junta terminated its bilateral agreement.

Russian military personnel have since arrived in Niamey, bringing equipment and providing training to Nigerien forces .

For Algeria, instability in the Sahel is not a distant concern. The country shares thousands of kilometres of borders with Mali, Niger and Libya, making developments in its southern neighbourhood particularly consequential.

Algeria spent more than $25 billion on its armed forces in 2025, making it Africa’s largest military spender, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

According to multiple sources cited by Reuters, the first Algerian military convoy has reached Arlit, a uranium mining town in northwestern Niger. The Reuters report indicated that Algeria has said the decision to deploy troops was taken to protect the country’s energy and economic interests, without disclosing the size of the force or the timetable for their arrival .