A surprising outcome of the failed coup against Niger's military junta on Aug. 29 was the arrival, a day later, of an Algerian air detachment, including four SU-30 fighter jets. The powerful deployment was a clear signal that Algeria is breaking from its non-interventionist traditions and wanted its troubled southern neighbors in the Alliance of Sahel States (AES)—Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger—to take note. Algeria was not involved in the quashing of the putsch against Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani by disgruntled soldiers angered by command failings in the war against jihadist insurgents. That win was down to the presidential guard, backed by Russia's paramilitary force, the Africa Corps. But Algeria does fear state collapse, triggered by Islamist insurgencies that have their roots in its own internal violence of the 1990s. Algeria's new-found interest also coincides with the start of construction of a Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline that will stretch from Nigeria to the Mediterranean coast.

While Algeria offers a strategic alternative to Russia's military presence in the AES, armed force alone will not resolve the political grievances that fuel insurgencies and leave the Sahelian juntas vulnerable to coups.

From The New Humanitarian, Sept. 4. Internal links added