ALGIERS — Algeria's upper house of parliament, the Council of the Nation, unanimously approved a proposal to deploy troops to neighbouring Niger on Sunday (October 25), a senator told AFP on condition of anonymity. The senator said 148 of the 174 members of the upper house voted in favour of the proposal, which would send a military unit to protect energy facilities in Niger.

Source: AFP via NewsCentral / Arab News, Oct 25

Al Jazeera reported the Council of the Nation held an emergency session on Sunday to vote on the deployment, while the People's National Assembly, the lower house, was expected to hold a separate session later in the evening. Algeria's constitution empowers the president to send military units abroad only if both chambers approve by a two-thirds majority.

Source: Al Jazeera via 234Radio, Oct 25

148 of 174Upper-house members who voted in favour, a senator told AFP — the vote was described as unanimous among those voting
960 kmLength of the shared Algeria–Niger border, cited in AFP reporting
1973Year of Algeria's last foreign military mission, in the October War — this would be the first since then if the lower house also approves

Why Niger, and why now

The units are expected to be tasked with securing oil facilities in Niger, including projects linked to Algeria's state energy company Sonatrach, Al Jazeera and Anadolu reporting said. The vote followed a visit last week by Niger's Defence Minister, General Salifou Modi, who met President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and army chief General Said Chanegriha and signed a military cooperation protocol whose details were not made public.

Earlier this month, President Tebboune confirmed Algeria had sent fighter jets to Niger in late August to help thwart what he called a coup attempt in Niamey. Algeria's defence ministry said on August 30 it had sent Sukhoi Su-30 aircraft that landed at Niamey airport at the Nigerien authorities' request. The two countries, which share a 960-kilometre border, have also agreed to increase cooperation against jihadist attacks, cross-border crime and trafficking, AFP reported.

What happens next depends on the lower house. If the People's National Assembly also passes the proposal by the required majority, the deployment can proceed — a historic break with Algeria's long-standing caution about sending troops abroad. Officials have not disclosed the size of the force, its timing or how long the mission would last.