Tebboune confirms Algeria sent fighter jets to Niger to thwart coup attempt

Algeria’s President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has confirmed on the record that Algeria sent fighter jets to Niger in late August to help thwart a “coup attempt” in the capital, Niamey, in excerpts from his interview with local media broadcast on Saturday ahead of the full release (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/3/algeria-sent-fighter-jets-to-niger-to-thwart-coup-attempt-president-says).

Tebboune said the warplanes were sent because some parties had “gone too far”, without specifying whether he meant internal or external actors. He added that Niger’s Prime Minister, Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, had been visiting Algeria and returned home at night just before the mutiny.

“For obvious reasons, this is a provocation against us … and I too will send planes and we’ll meet head-on,” Tebboune said. The full interview is scheduled for broadcast on Saturday at 9pm on national television and radio (https://www.dzair-tube.dz/en/tebboune-addresses-key-national-and-international-issues-reveals-algeria-sent-military-aircraft-to-niger-to-counter-coup-attempt/).

Sustained gunfire and explosions were heard in Niamey overnight on August 28 into August 29, when renegade soldiers targeted a military base at Diori Hamani International Airport, then the state broadcaster and the presidential palace. Defence Minister General Salifou Modi said the mutineers had attempted to detain colleagues at Air Base 101 and that security forces regained control.

On August 30, Algeria’s Ministry of Defence said two patrols of four Sukhoi Su-30 aircraft had landed at Niamey airport, accompanied by an air-to-air refuelling plane, at the request of Nigerien authorities. Niger’s military government last month accused France of orchestrating the failed mutiny; France denied any involvement.