Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger alliance faces uphill task

All three countries, led by the military that seized power from civilian leaders, officially withdrew from the G5 Sahel Joint Force, a body set up to fight Islamists in the Sahel region last Saturday.

The region has been characterized by extremism since 2014. Violence against civilians has triggered a humanitarian crisis, which has left over 24 million people requiring assistance.

The G5 anti-jihadist force was created in 2014 in Nouakchott, Mauritania. It originally had