Algeria Authorizes First Overseas Troop Mission Since 1973

Algeria’s parliament has authorized a military deployment to Niger to protect energy infrastructure and economic interests, clearing the country’s first overseas troop mission since it sent forces to Egypt in 1973. The authorization does not establish that troops have arrived, and officials have not announced a start date or deployment size. Both chambers approved the measure on Sunday. In the upper house, 148 of 174 senators voted in favor; the lower house also endorsed the deployment. The decision authorizes President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to send National Army units beyond Algeria’s borders. Algerian officials and lawmakers have described the planned mission as a security measure focused on economic infrastructure, rather than an operation to wage war. Senator Belkacem Boulghiti said after the vote that the soldiers would be sent to secure economic infrastructure. The presidency’s statement did not give a timetable or troop count. Energy interests are central to the stated rationale. Algeria’s state energy company Sonatrach is exploring for oil in the Kafra region of northern Niger, and the two countries are involved in plans for a Trans-Saharan gas pipeline. The proposed...