Skip to main content
Work with the NEU
Niger and Burkina Faso withdraw from regional military bloc, saying it serves French interests
The Burkinabe honor guard in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso after Flintlock 2019 which brought together troops from the G5 Sahel [Public Domain / U.S. Navy]

NIGER and Burkina Faso announced their withdrawal from the G5 military bloc of west African states today.

The two countries follow the example of Mali, which like them is governed by a military junta opposed to French colonial influence in the Sahel region. Mali left the G5 last year.

The bloc was set up in 2014 alongside France’s announcement of Operation Barkhane, a military mission tasked with battling Islamist terrorist groups that spread across the region following Nato’s war against Libya. 

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
LAYING DOWN A MARKER: (L to R) Captain Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso, General Assimi Goita of Mali and General Abdourahamane Tchiani of Niger at the second AES summit on security and development in Bamako, Mali on December 23 2025 Pic: Mali Government Information Center via AP
Northwest Africa / 31 December 2025
31 December 2025

NICHOLAS MWANGI highlights a historic turning point in Sahelian sovereignty, as Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger bolstered their regional security through a unified military force

West Africa / 10 August 2025
10 August 2025
Burkina Faso President Ibrahim Traore arrives to the Grand Palace at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on May 10, 2025
Features / 15 May 2025
15 May 2025

ROGER McKENZIE explains how Ibrahim Traore has sparked the flames of hope across Africa, while the Western powers seek to extinguish all attempts to build true sovereignty in the long-exploited continent