A soldier of France's Barkhane mission holds a weapon as he patrols on November 1 2017 in central Mali in the border zone with Burkina Faso and Niger...
{"Image ImageDescription": "A soldier of France's Barkhane mission holds a weapon as he patrols on November 1, 2017 in central Mali, in the border zone with Burkina Faso and Niger as a joint anti-jihadist force linking countries in the Sahel began operations on November 1. \nThe world's newest joint international force, the five-nation G5 Sahel plans to number up to 5,000 military, police and civilian troops by March 2018. The 5,000 will comprise two battalions each from Mali and Niger and one each from Burkina Faso, Chad and Mauritania. / AFP PHOTO / Daphn? BENOIT        (Photo credit should read DAPHNE BENOIT/AFP via Getty Images)"}