Mali's military junta said on Sunday that it is withdrawing from a multi-national military group fighting an Islamist insurgency in West Africa's Sahel area (May 15). The G5 Sahel group was established in 2017 to combat extremists who have stormed throughout the region in recent years, murdering thousands of people and causing millions to abandon their homes.

        However, due to a shortage of budget, the police has unable to minimize the violence. Mali's junta, which deposed former President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and seized power in a coup in 2020, criticized a lack of progress in the war against Islamists and the inability to have recent meetings in Mali for the failure to hold recent meetings.

        The measure further isolates Mali, which has already been sanctioned by West Africa's regional political bloc, putting the poor country's employment and industries at risk.