LOMÉ, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Ouagadougou (Xinhua) -- Burkina Faso and Niger have decided to withdraw from all G5 Sahel institutions, Burkina Faso's transitional press office said on Dec. 2.
Burkina Faso's Transitional Press Office said on the 2nd that according to the joint statement signed by Burkina Faso and Niger on the 1st, the two countries decided to withdraw from all the institutions of the G5 Sahel from November 29, including its joint counter-terrorism force, after an in-depth review of the G5 Sahel and its operations.
The statement said that the original intention of the G5 Sahel was to promote security and development in the Sahel region, but it is still difficult to achieve this goal nine years after its establishment. Burkina Faso and the Niger are firmly committed to achieving lasting peace and stability in the Sahel region, and they are ready to assume the responsibility of withdrawing from the G5 Sahel.
The Sahel region is a narrow strip of land south of the Sahara Desert in Africa that is 320 to 480 kilometers wide. In recent years, the region has been plagued by poverty, armed conflict and natural disasters. The G5 Sahel was established in 2014 and includes Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger. In 2017, the G5 Sahel Joint Counterterrorism Force was officially launched. On 15 May 2022, Mali announced its withdrawal from all G5 Sahel institutions, including its Joint Counterterrorism Force. (Participating reporter: Zhang Jian) (end).