Algeria’s president orders troop deployment to neighbouring Niger

Niger requested troops to secure shared energy interests in what would be Algeria’s first deployment abroad since 1973.

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune [File: Nadja Wohlleben/Reuters]

Algeria’s President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has ordered troops to neighbouring Niger to protect energy and economic interests shared by both countries.

The decision, announced by Algeria’s presidency on Monday, came after both chambers of parliament approved the deployment in an emergency session on Sunday.

list 1 of 2 Algeria’s military deployment to Niger: What’s behind the move?

list 2 of 2 Algerian parliament’s upper house approves troop deployment to Niger

The presidency said authorities in Niger had requested military assistance.

If carried out, it would be Algeria’s first overseas military deployment since 1973, when it sent soldiers to support Egypt during the Arab-Israeli war.

The move marks a departure from Algeria’s longstanding reluctance to intervene militarily beyond its borders.

A 2020 constitutional reform allows the president to authorise overseas deployments with the approval of at least two-thirds of legislators in each parliamentary chamber.

Algeria sent fighter jets and support aircraft to Niger in August after what Algerian officials described as an attempt to destabilise its military government.

The presidency said the deployment decision was made under provisions of Algeria’s constitution allowing the military to operate abroad with parliamentary approval.

It has not been announced how many soldiers will be sent or when.

Algerian Senator Belkacem Boulghiti told reporters after Sunday’s parliamentary vote that the soldiers would protect economic infrastructure, particularly Algerian oil facilities in Niger.

He said Algeria was “not sending our soldiers to wage war in Niger”, describing the mission as a response to changing security conditions in the Sahel region.

Algeria’s state-owned energy company, Sonatrach, has been working with Niger on the proposed Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline. It would carry natural gas from Nigeria through Niger to Algeria for export to European markets.

Niger and neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso have faced years of attacks by armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS).

All three countries are governed by military leaders who seized power in coups and subsequently formed the Alliance of Sahel States, a regional political and security bloc.

The deployment follows an improvement in relations between Algeria and Niger, which has been led by General Abdourahamane Tiani since a 2023 military coup that Algeria initially condemned.

Tensions deepened in April last year after Algerian forces shot down a Malian drone near the border, prompting the three alliance members to recall their ambassadors from Algiers.

尼日尔请求派遣军队，以确保双方在能源领域的共同利益。这将是阿尔及利亚自 1973 年以来首次向海外部署军队。

阿尔及利亚总统阿卜杜勒马吉德·特布恩 [文件：Nadja Wohlleben/路透社]

阿尔及利亚总统阿卜杜勒马吉德·特本已下令向邻国尼日尔派遣军队，以保护两国共同的能源和经济利益。

阿尔及利亚总统府周一宣布了这一决定，此前议会两院在周日的紧急会议上批准了这项部署。

阿尔及利亚向尼日尔部署军队（共 2 项）：此举背后有何动机？

阿尔及利亚议会上院批准向尼日尔部署军队（共2份名单中的第2份）

总统府表示，尼日尔当局已请求军事援助。

如果实施，这将是阿尔及利亚自 1973 年以来首次向海外部署军队，当时阿尔及利亚向埃及派遣士兵，支持其参与阿以战争。

此举标志着阿尔及利亚一改长期以来不愿越境进行军事干预的立场。

2020 年的宪法改革允许总统在获得议会两院至少三分之二议员的批准后，授权海外部署。

8 月，阿尔及利亚向尼日尔派遣了战斗机和支援飞机，此前阿尔及利亚官员称尼日尔企图破坏其军政府的稳定。

总统府表示，此次部署决定是根据阿尔及利亚宪法中允许军队在获得议会批准后在国外开展行动的条款做出的。

目前尚未公布将派遣多少士兵以及何时派遣。

阿尔及利亚参议员贝尔卡塞姆·布尔吉蒂在周日议会投票后告诉记者，士兵们将保护经济基础设施，特别是阿尔及利亚在尼日尔的石油设施。

他表示，阿尔及利亚“不会派我们的士兵去尼日尔打仗”，并将此次任务描述为对萨赫勒地区不断变化的安全形势的回应。

阿尔及利亚国有能源公司索纳特拉克（Sonatrach）一直在与尼日尔合作推进拟建的跨撒哈拉天然气管道项目。该管道将把天然气从尼日利亚经尼日尔输送到阿尔及利亚，再出口到欧洲市场。

尼日尔及其邻国马里和布基纳法索多年来一直遭受与基地组织和伊斯兰国（ISIS）有关联的武装团体的袭击。

这三个国家均由通过政变夺取政权的军人领导人统治，随后组建了萨赫勒国家联盟，这是一个区域政治和安全集团。

此次部署是在阿尔及利亚和尼日尔关系改善之后进行的。自 2023 年发生军事政变以来，尼日尔一直由阿卜杜拉哈曼·蒂亚尼将军领导，阿尔及利亚最初谴责了这场政变。

去年 4 月，阿尔及利亚军队在边境附近击落了一架马里无人机，导致紧张局势加剧，促使三个联盟成员国召回了驻阿尔及尔大使。