The US is pledging $60 million to support a new force to patrol the southwestern Sahara desert.

The "G5 Sahel nations" - Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad - are combining forces to fight armed groups in the area. The deaths of US soldiers in an attack in Niger last month may have drawn greater US interest.

They're being backed by France in a bid to secure more support from the United Nations.

Al Jazeera's James Bays reports from the UN.