Algeria's Council of the Nation, the upper house of parliament, approved on Sunday a proposal to deploy troops to neighbouring Niger to protect energy facilities, TRT World reported.

A senator who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity said 148 of the 174 seats voted in favour, and the lower house was expected to vote on the proposal later on Sunday. Al Jazeera reported the approval was unanimous. According to TRT World, any deployment abroad would be Algeria's first such military operation since it sent troops to support Egypt during the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. The proposal is linked to the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline (TSGP), which would carry natural gas from Nigeria through Niger and Algeria to European markets.