French and Malian forces are advancing against Islamist militants in
northern Mali heading toward Timbuktu after more than two weeks of
fighting.
Overnight, French air strikes destroyed the home of an al Qaida linked
militant leader in the town of Kidal some 1,500 from the capital,
Bamako.
The assault came a day after French and Malian forces recaptured the strategic city of
Gao.
The French Defense Ministry said Saturday that a contingent of troops
from Nigeria and Chad was moving into the city to help maintain
stability. The ministry also said the city's mayor, who had sought
refuge in the capital, Bamako, was returning.
VOA correspondent Idrissa Fall in Mali says the military intervention in
Gao is significant because the city had become a haven for rebel
groups.
"Gao is the most important city in northern Mali. Gao was a kind of
capital for the Movement for the Unity of God and Jihad in West Africa
and also a capital for Ansar Dine. It was the former capital of the
MNLA, those rebel Tuaregs who proclaimed independence."
Earlier Saturday, French and Malian forces regained control of Gao's
airport and a nearby bridge. French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian
said the forces used an air and ground operation to cut off the logistic
and transportation capabilities of the militants.
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| map by Evan Centanni (www.polgeonow.com) |
The U.S. Defense Department announced late Saturday it is expanding its
aid to the French mission in Mali. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told
Le Drian in a phone conversation that the Pentagon is prepared to
conduct aerial refueling missions. The two defense officials also
discussed plans for the U.S. to transport troops from other African
nations into Mali. The U.S. has not planned to send its own troops to
Mali.
The conflict in Mali and how to end it is the main topic of discussion
at the African Union meeting in
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Sunday. The AU has
asked leaders of the 54-member bloc of nations to consider committing
troops to the mission in Mali.
France began a military offensive in Mali earlier this month, after
rebels who seized control of much of the country's north last year began
pushing toward the capital, Bamako. The rebels have been imposing a
strict form of Islamic law on civilians.
As military operations continue in Mali, defense chiefs from the West
African regional bloc known as ECOWAS were holding an emergency meeting
in the
Ivory Coast to discuss Mali's unrest. ECOWAS has been discussing
plans to send roughly 3,000 troops to Mali as part of a U.N.-backed
mission.
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