French Mirage fighter jets on Sunday pounded
Mali for a third day and a top Islamist leader was reported killed as
African troops headed to the west African country.
"There were [air strikes] last night, there are now and there will be
today and tomorrow," Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in
televised remarks.
"Our intervention is ongoing and we will continue in order to make
them [Islamist fighters] retreat and allow Malian and African forces to
go forward and re-establish the territorial integrity of the country,"
Le Drian said.
The first troops promised by African nations were expected in Mali on Sunday to join the campaign.
Burkina Faso, Niger and Senegal on Saturday each pledged 500 troops for an African-led intervention force.
Also on Sunday, a security source said a lieutenant of Ansar Dine,
Chief Iyad Ag Ghaly, was killed in fighting to recapture the central
town of Konna from the rebels.
"The Islamist fighters suffered a real setback with the death of Abdel 'Kojak' Krim," the source said.
On Saturday French troops arrived in the capital Bamako, flying in
from bases in Côte d'Ivoire and Chad, according to a Malian officer. He
refused to give details of their numbers or their mission.
Colonel Paul Geze, the French mission's commander, told Mali's ORTM
television he hoped their mission would succeed "as quickly as possible,
in the best conditions possible".
ORTM said the French contingent would be at full strength by Monday.
It has been deployed in the capital to protect the 6,000-strong
expatriate community.
Both France and Mali on Saturday hailed the success of their joint
operation to push back an advance by the Islamists who control the north
of the country.
Since taking power in the north last year, the Islamists have
destroyed centuries-old Muslim mausoleums they see as heretical and
imposed an extreme form of Islamic law including floggings, amputations
and sometimes executions.
"Our foes have suffered heavy losses," French President Francois Hollande said.
A French pilot carrying out air raids had been killed, he added.
Human Rights Watch, citing reports from residents, said at least 10
civilians including three children had died in Konna. Children forced by
the Islamists to fight in their ranks had been wounded and possibly
killed in the fighting, said HRW's Corinne Dufka.
The Islamists had conscripted the child soldiers in Mali's northeast
region of Gao and captured others from neighbouring Niger, she added,
calling for their immediate release.
As Western nations praised the French initiative, Britain offered technical support, though no troops on the ground.
Meanwhile French President Hollande said he had ordered tighter
security at home following the intervention in Mali, a former French
colony.
France "has to take all necessary precautions" in the face of a
terrorist threat including increased surveillance of public buildings
and transport, he said.
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