The G5 Sahel has invited Mali’s military junta to rejoin the body, which it left in June 2022 due to tensions between the bloc and Bamako following coups in August 2020 and May 2021.
The group, comprising Burkina Faso, Chad, Mauritania and Niger, has indicated after a summit in N’Djamena that it has a «burning desire for the sister Republic of Mali to rejoin the natural family that is the G5 Sahel.»
In his final communiqué, he stressed «the importance of the G5 Sahel as a framework for sub-regional cooperation and coordination and an instrument of solidarity in the fight against terrorism, extremism and organized crime».
Thus, they stressed that «it does not only have a military vote, but an integrated vote on development and environmental challenges», before pointing to a «collective responsibility to preserve and revitalize the G5 Sahel».
Mali’s decision to leave the G5 Sahel and its joint force against jihadism was due to the organization’s refusal to guarantee it the presidency because of the political situation following the uprisings. In this regard, he stressed that this situation «is a violation of a decision taken by the institution and of the basic texts of the G5 Sahel».
Following this, the President of Niger, Mohamed Bazoum, stressed that the G5 Sahel «is dead» after the departure of Mali from the bloc and stressed that Western countries «have to make more sacrifices» in the fight against jihadist groups in this region of the African continent.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)