Post falsely presents Algeria’s position on Niger crisis

“Algeria will support Niger in case of external military aggression, according to the Algerian publication Intel Kirby,” reads a post in a thread published on X, formerly known as Twitter, on August 1, 2023.

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A screenshot of the false X post, taken on August 3, 2023

Shared more than 4,000 times, the post features a picture of armoured personnel carriers fitted with Algerian flags on a street.

The claim was also shared on Instagram.

Putschists led by the head of Niger’s presidential guard General Abdourahamane Tiani deposed and detained Bazoum on July 26, 2023 (archived here). Tiani declared himself the country’s leader two days later.

After an emergency session called by the chairman of ECOWAS, Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu, the regional bloc demanded that Bazoum be reinstated within seven days (archived here) from July 30, 2023.

It said it would explore “all measures” including “the use of force” if constitutional authority was not restored before the ultimatum expired on August 6, 2023.

Niger’s Sahelian neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso, which also fell to military coups in recent years, said that they would consider any military intervention in Niger as a “declaration of war against Burkina Faso and Mali” (archived here).

But the claim that Algeria said it would support Niger’s putschists if ECOWAS sends troops to restore Bazoum to power is false.

Algeria backs Bazoum

Following the coup in Niger, Algeria’s foreign minister publicly stated on August 1, 2023, that the Algerian government still recognised Bazoum as the country’s leader.

The statement, written in French and Arabic, said Algeria called for a “peaceful” restoration of constitutional authority to prevent throwing Niger into chaos, noting that while “foreign military interventions” are “possible and usable options,” they could worsen the crisis.

Algeria’s foreign ministry doubled down on the country’s position in a post on X on August 4, 2023 (archived here).

Misrepresented source

The false claim cited an “Algerian publication” named Intel Kirby.

A search for “Intel Kirby” led to an account on X called @IntelKirby (archived here).

This account regularly posts analyses of current events in the region. Its bio contains a link to a Discord server called Project Owl, where @IntelKirby is an admin. Project Owl is an open-source intelligence (OSINT) community with more than 33,900 members.

The account has published dozens of posts about the Niger coup, including a thread on July 30, 2023 — two days before the false claim was made (archived here).

“Algeria will not sit idly while a neighboring country is being invaded,” the account said in one of the posts in the thread.

At the end of the thread, it clarified that this was “my opinion and not any official statement release” (archived here).

The account also pointed out that the Algerian constitution allowed for military operations outside its border only in the case of an internationally-mandated peacekeeping mission (archived here).

On August 1, 2023, @IntelKirby reacted to the false claim that cited its account (archived here).

“Can't believe I have to say this but my tweets do not represent the Algerian government OR the Algerian armed forces," the account wrote.

While insisting that they do not speak for the Algerian government, @IntelKirby told AFP Fact Check that Algeria has a “non-interventionist” policy but that the country will be concerned about the national security implications of the crisis on its southern border.