Algeria Sends Troops to Guard Niger Oil

Algeria’s People’s National Assembly ratified a proposal on Sunday to send troops to Niger. The move represents a departure from the country’s long-standing policy of nonintervention. The Council of the Nation, the upper house, had already given unanimous approval earlier that day.

The decision follows a rapid thaw in relations between Algiers and Niamey. In February, Nigeri President Abdourahamane Tchiani visited Algeria. Several months later, Nigeri Defence Minister Salifou Mody travelled to Algiers to discuss security cooperation. Before these visits, ties had strained after Algeria condemned Niger’s 2023 coup. Relations worsened further in April when the Algerian army shot down a Malian drone, prompting Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso to recall their ambassadors from Algiers.

Algerian authorities cited an attempt to destabilize Niger’s military-led government as the trigger for earlier military movements. In late August, Algiers dispatched four Russian-made Sukhoi Su-30 jets, a transport aircraft, and an aerial refuelling aircraft to Niamey. The new ground troop deployment is reportedly intended to protect oil installations owned by Sonatrach, Algeria’s state energy company.

Algerian Senator Belkacem Boulghiti stated that the troops would secure economic and strategic interests. He told reporters after the vote, “We are not sending our soldiers to wage war in Niger, but for a mission to secure economic infrastructure.” He added that the move adapts doctrine to evolving circumstances in the Sahel region.

The deployment occurs as Algeria seeks to deepen security cooperation in the Sahel. The country shares thousands of kilometres of borders with Mali, Niger, and Libya. Instability in these neighbours has direct consequences for Algiers. Since 2012, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have experienced six military coups. These uprisings followed a decade of armed rebellion that expanded across the region after the collapse of Muammar Gaddafi’s government in Libya in 2011.

Foreign military forces have reshaped the region’s security landscape. France withdrew troops from Mali in August 2022, Burkina Faso in February 2023, and Niger in December 2023. Niger demanded the departure of approximately 1,500 French soldiers after its July 2023 coup. The United States withdrew about 1,000 soldiers from Niger in 2024, including personnel from a drone base near Agadez. Russia has filled part of the void. About 100 Russian military personnel arrived in Niamey in April 2024 to train Nigeri forces. Moscow has also expanded its cooperation with Mali and Burkina Faso.

Algeria’s spending supports this expanded reach. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute reported that Algeria spent more than $25 billion on its armed forces in 2025. This makes it Africa’s largest military spender. The country’s constitution, revised in 2020, allows the president to authorize overseas deployments if at least two-thirds of each parliamentary chamber agree. The current approval meets that threshold.

The strategic context includes a diplomatic rift with the United Arab Emirates. In September, Algeria severed ties with Abu Dhabi, accusing it of hostile and provocative actions. The two nations had disagreed on issues including Western Sahara and UAE interference in North African affairs. The Sahel’s security architecture is currently being reshaped as Western forces depart and Russian influence grows.