Algeria Says It Sent Fighter Jets to Niger After Alleged Coup Attempt

Algeria deployed fighter jets to Niger after a late-August mutiny and alleged coup attempt in Niamey, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has said.

Tebboune described the events as a “coup attempt” and said Algeria acted after what he called a provocation. “Some parties had gone too far,” he said in excerpts from an interview broadcast ahead of its full release.

The Algerian Ministry of Defence said on August 30 that aircraft had been sent to Niger at the request of Nigerien authorities. It described the deployment as a mission to support the Nigerien army in confronting an attempt to destabilise Niger.

Unrest in Niamey

Sustained gunfire and explosions were heard in Niamey overnight from August 28 into August 29. A military base at Diori Hamani International Airport was initially targeted by renegade soldiers, followed by attacks on the state broadcaster and the presidential palace, according to the reported account of the unrest.

Salifou Modi, Niger’s defence minister and a general, said a group of military personnel had attempted to detain colleagues at Air Base 101 before opening fire on strategic locations in the capital.

Modi said security forces intervened, contained the situation and gradually regained control of the locations that had been targeted.

The reported events have been described by officials as an attempted mutiny and coup effort. The available accounts do not independently establish the identity or wider affiliations of all those involved.

Algeria’s response

Tebboune said Niger’s Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine had been visiting Algeria and returned home at night shortly before the mutiny. Zeine led a high-level ministerial delegation during a visit to Algeria on August 26 and 27 that was aimed at strengthening cooperation.

Algeria’s defence ministry reported that four fighter jets were sent to Niger. It also referred to two patrols of four Sukhoi Su-30 aircraft. The information provided does not clarify how those figures relate to each other, nor does it state the aircraft’s precise operational role or how long the deployment lasted.

In a separate statement attributed to Tebboune, the Algerian president said: “For obvious reasons, this is a provocation against us … and I too will send planes and we’ll meet head-on.”

Regional tensions

Algeria and Niger maintain close security and military ties and share a long land border. Algeria considers stability in the Sahel region an important part of its national security.

Niger’s military government accused France of orchestrating the failed mutiny. France denied involvement. The accusation remains an official claim rather than an independently verified finding.

No casualty or arrest figures were provided in the available information.