![Burkina, Niger to quit G5 anti-militant force](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/images/UrduPoint-English-22.png)
Burkina, Niger To Quit G5 Anti-militant Force
Umer Jamshaid Published December 03, 2023 | 12:00 PM
![Burkina, Niger to quit G5 anti-militant force](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/images/UrduPoint-English-22.png)
Ouagadougou, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Dec, 2023) The military leaders of Burkina Faso and Niger said Saturday they would quit the G5 anti-militant force in Africa's Sahel region, the latest blow to the fight against insurgents in one of the world's most troubled zones.
The G5, created in 2014, has secured only meagre results, with Mali also quitting the original five-nation force last year in the wake of a military coup.
Leaders of the five countries agreed to deploy a joint anti-terror task force backed by France in 2017, but the military rulers of Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali have all accused Paris of having an outsize role after years of French deployments on their territories.
Burkina and Niger "have decided in full sovereignty to quit all instances of the G5 Sahel, including the joint force" as of November 29, the two countries said in a statement.
"The organisation is failing to achieve its objectives. Worse, the legitimate ambitions of our countries, of making the G5 Sahel a zone of security and development, are hindered by institutional red tape from a previous era, which convinces us that our process of independence and dignity is not compatible with G5 participation in its current form," they said.
In a veiled reference to France, they added that "the G5 Sahel cannot serve foreign interests to the detriments of our people, and even less the dictates of any power in the name of a partnership that treats them like children, denying the sovereignty of our peoples."
- Le Monde suspended -
Military leaders headed by Captain Ibrahim Traore seized power in Burkina Faso in September 2022, vowing to improve security after years of militant attacks by groups affiliated to Al-Qaeda and Islamic State.
Relations with France quickly broke down, with Traore's government ordering French forces that had been helping the under-equipped Burkinabe army to quit the country in February.
More than 17,000 people have died in attacks since 2015 in Burkina Faso, according to a count by an NGO monitor called the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), and two million people have been uprooted by the violence.
On Saturday, Burkina Faso suspended "all distribution methods" of Le Monde daily after the French newspaper published an article on a deadly militant attack in the north.
The Burkinabe authorities in recent months have suspended the French tv outlets LCI and France24 as well as Radio France Internationale and the magazine Jeune Afrique.
- Limited success -
France has also begun withdrawing its 1,500 troops from Niger following demands by the military rulers who ousted President Mohamed Bazoum in July.
Niger's foreign minister Bakary Yaou Sangare on Saturday said the new US ambassador, Kathleen FitzGibbon, who arrived in August, would soon present her letter of assignment to authorities to take up her post.
Washington, which withdrew non-essential staff from its embassy in August, indicated at the time that FitzGibbon would not present her credentials to Niger's new authorities, as the United States did not recognise them.
The West African nation is battling two militant insurgencies -- a spillover in its southeast from a long-running conflict in neighbouring Nigeria, and an offensive in the west by militants crossing from Mali and Burkina Faso.
Along with Mali, which saw a military coup in 2020, Burkina has backed Niger's military, with the three nations on Friday supporting the creation of an Alliance of Sahel States, setting up closer economic ties and mutual defence assistance.
The military regimes have also formed close ties against international pressure for a swift return to civilian rule, and to combat the long-running militant insurgencies raging in the three countries.
Only Chad and Mauritania now remain in the G5, whose military deployment is largely financed by the European Union.
The French deployment in the region goes back over a decade to 2013 when then-president Francois Hollande sent troops into Mali to help fight a militant insurgency.
But the military successes have contrasted with political failure, as democracy regressed rather than developed in a region also plagued by a flood of disinformation that Paris blames on Russia.
France also began pulling its troops from Mali last year, ending what became known as the Barkhane mission.
On the ground, few joint G5 operations have been carried out and the security situation has continued to deteriorate.
In late November, at least 40 civilians were killed by a major militant attack against a military base at Djibo in northern Burkina Faso, according to the United Nations.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
![Cricket: England v West Indies 3rd Test scoreboard](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019914.jpg)
Cricket: England v West Indies 3rd Test scoreboard
![Finance minister briefs Chinese officials on refor ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019922.jpg)
Finance minister briefs Chinese officials on reform agenda, engagement with IMF
![Finland says Russian vessel violated its territori ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019912.jpg)
Finland says Russian vessel violated its territorial waters
![Olympic opening ceremony under way on River Seine](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019266.jpg)
Olympic opening ceremony under way on River Seine
![West Indies' treble strike rocks England in third ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019264.jpg)
West Indies' treble strike rocks England in third Test
![Ukraine court orders detention of suspect in murde ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019262.jpg)
Ukraine court orders detention of suspect in murder of nationalist ex-MP
![Long queues, ticketing problems ahead of Paris ope ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019015.jpg)
Long queues, ticketing problems ahead of Paris opening ceremony
![Rana Sanaullah Khan joins Paris 2024 Olympics inau ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019638.jpg)
Rana Sanaullah Khan joins Paris 2024 Olympics inauguration reception
![Glowing tributes mark 69th birthday of President Z ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019637.jpg)
Glowing tributes mark 69th birthday of President Zardari at Governor's House
![Players unaware of spying scandal as Canada Olympi ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019635.jpg)
Players unaware of spying scandal as Canada Olympic coach sent home: official
![Naqvi hails Pak women cricketers for going down fi ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019013.jpg)
Naqvi hails Pak women cricketers for going down fighting against SL
!['Sabotage' on French rail network before Olympics: ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019634.jpg)
'Sabotage' on French rail network before Olympics: What we know
More Stories From World
-
Biden talks Gaza ceasefire efforts with king of Jordan
4 hours ago -
Sinaloa Cartel co-founder pleads not guilty after stunning US capture
4 hours ago -
Panama says Venezuela blocked ex-presidents going to observe polls
4 hours ago -
Ethiopia mourns victims of landslide tragedy
4 hours ago -
Khan Yunis fighting displaces 180,000 Gazans in four days: UN
4 hours ago -
Trump slams rivals as he meets Netanyahu in Florida
5 hours ago
-
Obama & his wife, Michelle, officially endorse US VP Kamala Harris for president
5 hours ago -
Rain, cooling slow huge blaze in Canada's Jasper park
5 hours ago -
Airbus and Boeing supremacy secure despite turbulence
5 hours ago -
S.African police detain 95 Libyans at suspected military camp
5 hours ago -
'Slapping therapist' guilty over UK diabetic woman's death
6 hours ago -
Panama says Venezuela blocked flight of ex-presidents going to observe polls
6 hours ago