Sahel: Chad and Mauritania have noted the dissolution of the G5 Sahel

Chad and Mauritania have confirmed the imminent dissolution of the G5 Sahel, this Wednesday, December 6, following the withdrawal of Niger and Burkina Faso. Created in 2014, the G5 Sahel is a community that brought together Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Chad.

They were the last two remaining members of the G5 Sahel alliance; whose objective is to counter jihadism. This Wednesday, Mauritania and Chad discussed the dissolution of the alliance created in 2014. Both countries “take note of and respect the sovereign decision” of Burkina Faso and Niger to withdraw, following Mali’s earlier announcement.

Mauritania and Chad have pledged to implement all necessary measures in accordance with the provisions of the Convention establishing the G5 Sahel, notably in its Article 20. Article 20 of the Convention stipulates that “the G5 Sahel may be dissolved at the request of at least three member states”. However, the military regimes in power in Burkina Faso and Niger have not explicitly requested the dissolution of the G5 Sahel.

To justify the withdrawal, the two countries denounced that the G5 Sahel “struggles to achieve its objectives”. According to them, “the legitimate ambitions of our states to make the G5 Sahel area a zone of security and development are thwarted by institutional burdens and archaic constraints, which convince us that the path towards independence and dignity we are currently committed to is incompatible with participation in the G5 Sahel in its current form”.

It’s worth noting that prior to Niger and Burkina Faso, Mali had walked out of the G5 Sahel force in mid-May 2022. Bamako lamented a loss of decision-making autonomy, instrumentalization, and serious dysfunction of the G5 Sahel’s organs. This situation fundamentally opposes the interests of this community whose mandate is to pool resources to ensure conditions for development and security in the space of member countries.

Sadia Nyoaré