BURKINA-MALI-FRANCE-ARMY-CONFLICT

A soldier from the French Army monitors a rural area during the Bourgou IV operation in northern Burkina Faso, along the border with Mali and Niger, on November 10, 2019. This is the first time that the French Army, the national armies and the multinational force of the G5 Sahel (Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Mauritania and Chad) have officially worked together in the field. The mission of the 1,400 soldiers of this Bourgou IV operation (including 600 of the 4,500 French soldiers of the Barkhane force): to restore authority in a remote area where no army has set foot in more than a year, leaving the field open to jihadists. (Photo by MICHELE CATTANI / AFP) (Photo by MICHELE CATTANI/AFP via Getty Images)