Algerian Senate approves troop deployment to Niger
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on TSA
Algeria’s Council of the Nation unanimously approved sending a detachment of the People’s National Army to northern Niger. The mission is to protect Sonatrach’s investments, while the People’s National Assembly was still due to vote on 25 October, according to the daily El Khabar.
The Council of the Nation, the upper house of Algeria’s Parliament, has unanimously approved the deployment of a detachment of the People’s National Army (ANP) to a military base in northern Niger. The mission is intended to protect the investments of Sonatrach, Algeria’s state-owned oil company, according to the daily El Khabar, as cited by TSA.
The People’s National Assembly (APN), the lower house of Parliament, was due to examine the proposal on the afternoon of Sunday 25 October. The debate was to be limited to statements by the presidents of parliamentary groups, with 10 minutes allowed for each, according to El Khabar.
The deployment of Algerian troops abroad has required the approval of both chambers by a two-thirds majority since 2020, under Article 91 of the Constitution. The proposal comes as Sonatrach develops oil and mining investments in Niger, notably around the Kafra oil project, whose potential is estimated at 2.5 billion barrels. The Kafra oil project in Niger could therefore benefit from the protection planned for the detachment.
The procedure follows steps taken by Algiers to strengthen security cooperation with Niamey. President Abdelmadjid Tebboune had already justified sending four Algerian fighter jets after the mutiny in Niamey, and then discussed military cooperation with Nigerien Defence Minister Salifou Modi on 15 October. Algerian-Nigerien military cooperation forms part of this diplomatic sequence.
