Burkina Faso and Niger will withdraw from all bodies of the G5 Sahel regional association, including the joint military force, the two nations announced in a joint statement on Saturday.
The statement says, both countries understand that the organization has fallen under “the control of foreign partners,” and is no longer effective or useful.
The heads of both countries stated today that since November 29th, they officially withdraw the from ant-terrorist and anti-jihadist organization.
Now, only Chad and Mauritania remain in the alliance which was founded in 2014 to fight against salafist militancy in the Horn of Africa; a problem that was specifically exasberated with the NATO coup in Libya.
According to Burkina’s official news agency AIB, “the transitional governments of Burkina Faso and the Republic of Niger, after an in-depth examination of the G5 Sahel and the functioning of the organization, have sovereignly decided to withdraw Burkina Faso and Niger from all forums and bodies of the G5 Sahel, including the joint force”.
In the statement says, both countries understand that this organization has fallen under “the control of foreign partners who work for their own interests,” and they recall that Mali has already left the group “for the same grievances.”
In May 2022, Mali agreed to quit the allience due to colonial intrusion by the French, particularly as the French increased its military presence and interfered with local governance.
Some African Press agencies also announced this Friday that Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso plan to set up a regional confederation. They are considering creating a stabilization fund, a bank and a committee to study the possibility of forming an economic and monetary union.
With this decision, only Chad and Mauritania continue to belong to the alliance, financed largely by the European Union, and will remain a force of European power projection.