The military regimes in power in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have announced the formation of a joint security force to counter the numerous jihadist groups active on their territory. At the moment there is not much information on this new force: it is not clear when it will be operational, nor what its size and composition will be. Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger are located in the Sahel, a region of sub-Saharan Africa where attacks by Islamist groups have long been carried out, in which so far they have been killed thousands of civilians.
The three countries are controlled by military juntas following coups in recent years. All three have since retired G5 Sahelan organization of five countries (Chad, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Mauritania) founded in 2014 precisely to counter jihadist groups in the area, and have signed a mutual defense pact.