Algeria will send army units to Niger to protect energy and economic interests, according to a statement from the presidency on Monday, marking Algeria’s first foreign troop deployment since it sent forces to support Egypt in the 1973 war.

Algeria’s parliament approved a resolution on Sunday authorizing ‌the deployment ‌of National Army units ‌to Madama in northern Niger, near the Libyan border.

The presidential statement did not say when the troops will be sent or how many there would be.

Military officers have ruled Niger, a nation rich in uranium, oil and gold resources, ‌since the ‌July 2023 coup that ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, ‌which Algeria opposed. Relations worsened last ‌year, when Niger recalled its ambassador from Algiers after Algeria shot down a Malian drone near their border.

Algeria’s interests in Niger ‌are mainly in energy. Its state-run Sonatrach is working with Niger and Nigeria on the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline, which is intended to create a new export corridor for African gas to international markets, particularly Europe.

Niger is battling insurgents linked to Al-Qaeda and Daesh.

The fighting has killed thousands and displaced millions across West Africa’s central Sahel region over the past decade.