The Mauritanian government on Wednesday described as “unjustified” the withdrawal of Mali from the G5 Sahel, composed of five countries, stating that this decision by Malian authorities will affect the security situation in the region.
“It is no secret that when the G5 Sahel was created, the major problems that stood in front of the group, concerned Mali,” said the Mauritanian Minister of National Education and Reform of the Education System and Government spokesman, Mohamed Melainine Ould Eyih, told a news conference, after the weekly Council of Ministers.
According to him, Mauritania will make every effort to ensure that the G5 Sahel overcomes the obstacles it is faced with in cooperation with other partners, stressing that Nouakchott remains committed to the importance of the G5 Sahel, as well as its military and development dimensions.
Last Sunday, Mali announced its withdrawal from the G5 Sahel and its military counter-terrorism force, in protest against the group’s refusal to allow Mali to assume the presidency of this regional organization grouping Mauritania, Mali, Chad, Burkina and Niger.
“The government of Mali decides to withdraw from all the G5 Sahel bodies, including the Joint Force” to fight terrorism, the Malian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
In the same vein, Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum said the G5 Sahel countries’ Joint Force fighting armed jihadists in West Africa “is dead” after Mali’s withdrawal.
In an interview with the French newspaper La Croix, published on Wednesday, Niger’s Head of State noted that “the isolation of Bamako in West Africa is a bad thing for the entire sub-region… The G5 Sahel is dead,” adding that “if this country was in a normal situation, we would be able to develop our cooperation together with Barkhane.”
HA/fss/GIK/APA