The Parliament of Algeria has given its approval this Sunday, unanimously and in a closed-door plenary session, for the deployment of military forces to Niger at the request of President Abdelmayid Tebbune.
The initiative has moved forward with 148 favorable votes, the total of the deputies present, thus surpassing the two-thirds majority required by the Constitution, according to the official Algerian news agency, APS.
"The president of the National Assembly, Azuz Naseri, has presided over a closed-door plenary session of the National Assembly today (...) dedicated to the approval of the notification presented by the president of the Republic," states the official communiqué of the Chamber.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Ataf, has defended the report on behalf of Tebbune, accompanied by several commanders of the Armed Forces. Subsequently, the spokespersons of the different parliamentary groups have expressed their support for the proposal.
The deployment aims to "protect energy interests and implement the bilateral agreement signed between the two brother and neighboring countries," emphasizes the note.
Algerian troops will be deployed in Madama, in northern Niger and near the border with Libya, at an old French military base that was used during Operation Barkhane. Their mission will be to reinforce the security of hydrocarbon exploitation facilities, including the Kafra oil field, managed by the Algerian state company Sonatrach.
This is the first military operation of Algeria outside its territory since 1973, when it sent contingents in support of Egypt during the Arab-Israeli war.