Burkina Faso, Niger Join Mali in Leaving G5 Anti-Jihadi Force

FILE - Soldiers loyal to Burkina Faso's latest coup leader, Capt. Ibrahim Traore, are pictured in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, Oct. 14, 2022. FILE - Nigeriens, some holding Russian flags, participate in a march called by supporters of coup leader Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani in Niamey, Niger, on July 30, 2023. FILE - United Nations peacekeepers stand guard at the entrance to a polling station covered in separatist flags and graffiti supporting the creation of the independent state of Azawad, in Kidal, Mali, on July 27, 2013.

The military leaders of Burkina Faso and Niger said Saturday they would quit the G5 anti-jihadi force in Africa's Sahel region, the latest blow to the fight against insurgents in one of the world's most troubled zones.