Algeria Deploys Fighter Jets to Niger Amid Attempted Coup, President Says

In an interview broadcast on Saturday, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune revealed that Algeria flew four Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets, accompanied by an air-to-air refuelling aircraft, to Niamey in late August to assist in quelling a coup attempt. The unrest began with gunfire at Diori Hamani International Airport on the night of Aug. 28 and spread to the state broadcaster and presidential palace, prompting Niger’s defence minister General Salifou Modi to describe a mutiny by renegade soldiers.

Algerian forces landed at the airport after a request from Nigerien officials, aiming to bolster the Nigerien army’s response. Tebboune noted that some parties had “gone too far,” hinting at provocations against Algeria, though he did not specify the actors. The deployment underscores the close security cooperation between the two neighboring states and Algeria’s concern for stability in the Sahel region. The prime minister of Niger, Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, had visited Algeria on Aug. 26-27 as part of a ministerial delegation before the mutiny.