Mali said Sunday it was withdrawing from a west African force fighting jihadists to protest its being rejected as head of the G5 regional group, which also includes Mauritania, Chad, Burkina and Niger. "The government of Mali is deciding to withdraw from all the organs and bodies of the G5 Sahel, including the joint force" fighting the jihadists, it said in a statement. The G5 Sahel was created in 2014 and its anti-jihadist force launched in 2017. Beyond Mali and Burkina, the G5 Sahel, composed of around 5,000 troops, includes Mauritania, Chad and Niger. The military coups in Mali and Burkina Faso are undermining the regional force's opertional capacity, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a report to Security Council on May 11.

Source: Ethiopian News May 16, 2022 15:53 UTC