Algeria’s president orders troop deployment to Niger

Algeria’s presidency announced on 26 October that President Abdelmadjid Tebboune had ordered troops to neighbouring Niger and that Niger had requested military assistance to protect energy and economic interests shared by the two countries, Al Jazeera said.

The order follows approval by both parliamentary chambers on 25 October, moving the mission beyond parliamentary authorization to a presidential order.

What the troops would protect

Algerian Senator Belkacem Boulghiti said the soldiers would protect economic infrastructure, particularly Algerian oil facilities in Niger, and that Algeria was not sending soldiers to wage war, describing the mission as a response to changing security conditions in the Sahel region.

In its earlier 26 October account, Al Jazeera said the proposed mission was intended to protect oil installations belonging to Sonatrach, Algeria’s state-owned energy company.

The approval required by law

The Council of the Nation, Algeria’s upper house, voted unanimously at an emergency session on 25 October. A legislator told AFP that all 148 members present supported the proposal. The People’s National Assembly, the lower house, approved it later that day.

A 2020 constitutional reform allows Algeria’s president to authorize overseas deployments with support from at least two-thirds of the members of each parliamentary chamber. The two votes met that requirement under Article 91.