Algeria’s Upper House Approves Troop Deployment to Niger

Algeria’s upper house, the Council of the Nation, unanimously approved deploying troops to neighbouring Niger. The lower house was expected to hold a separate vote later on Sunday; Algeria’s constitution requires approval by both chambers, with a two-thirds majority, for military deployments abroad. The troops are expected to secure oil facilities, and the mission would be Algeria’s first outside its borders since the 1973 October War. The vote followed Nigerien Defence Minister Salifou Modi’s visit to Algeria and the signing of a military cooperation protocol.