France operated Madame as a forward base for Operation Barkan. Now they are talking about the entry of Algerian soldiers. What was confirmed: On October 21, Algeria and Niger signed a military cooperation protocol in Algiers, after talks between the Minister of Defense of Niger, Salifo Modi, and the head of the Algerian army, Said Changria. Details were not disclosed, according to Xinhua. What has been reported, not confirmed: Algerian units may deploy to Madama, the old French outpost in northern Niger less than 100 km from Libya. The direction is clear either way. After the uprising in Niger on August 29, Algeria flew four Su-30s and a tanker to Niamey. First military deployment abroad since 1973. Why Algeria cares: a shared 951 km border, JNIM and an Islamic state in the Sahel, and the trans-Saharan gas pipeline, with another 1,600 km to cross the Niger. Paris spent a decade there. The Africans are now sorting it out among themselves.

France operated Madame as a forward base for Operation Barkan. Now they are talking about the entry of Algerian soldiers. What was confirmed: On October 21, Algeria and Niger signed a military cooperation protocol in Algiers, after talks between the Minister of Defense of Niger, Salifo Modi, and the head of the Algerian army, Said Changria. Details were not disclosed, according to Xinhua. What has been reported, not confirmed: Algerian units may deploy to Madama, the old French outpost in northern Niger less than 100 km from Libya. The direction is clear either way. After the uprising in Niger on August 29, Algeria flew four Su-30s and a tanker to Niamey. First military deployment abroad since 1973. Why Algeria cares: a shared 951 km border, JNIM and an Islamic state in the Sahel, and the trans-Saharan gas pipeline, with another 1,600 km to cross the Niger. Paris spent a decade there. The Africans are now sorting it out among themselves.