The French intervention in former French colony Mali continued Friday. Airstrikes drove Al Qaeda-linked militants out of Konna, a city that had been captured by the rebels. France entered the conflict at the request of Mali's president.
Soldiers from a Malian army special unit sit atop pick-ups, following a training exercise in the Barbe military zone, in Mopti, Mali in November. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Friday, that France, Senegal, and Nigeria have responded to an appeal from Mali's President Dioncounda Traore for help to counter an offensive by al-Qaida-linked militants who control the northern half of the country and are heading south.
Francois Rihouay/AP
EnlargeFrench airstrikes overnight in?Mali?drove back Islamist rebels from a key city and destroyed a militant command center, the French defense minister said Saturday, as West African nations authorized the immediate deployment of troops to the country.
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The al-Qaida-linked militants, who have carved out their own territory in the lawless desert region of northern?Mali?over the past nine months, recently pressed closer to a major base of the Malian army, dramatically raising the stakes in the battle for the vast West African nation.
"The threat is a terrorist state at the doorstep of France and Europe," said French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian.
The French operation, which started Friday in the former French colony, came after an appeal for help from?Mali's?president. The fighting involved hundreds of French troops and overnight airstrikes on three rebel targets, said Le Drian. He said a rebel command center outside the key city of Konna was destroyed.
Adm. Edouard Guillaud said a French helicopter had been downed and that the pilot died of his wounds while he was being evacuated to safety.
A military official in?Mali?said Islamist militants were driven out of Konna, but that the city captured by the extremists earlier this week was not yet under government control.
"We are doing sweeps of the city to find any hidden Islamist extremist elements," said Lt. Col. Diarran Kone. "The full recovery of the city is too early to determine as we do not yet control the city, and we remain vigilant."
Sanda Abou Mohamed, spokesman for Islamist group Ansar Dine, told The Associated Press he could not confirm if his fighters were still in Konna. "I cannot tell you if our fighters are still in the city of Konna or if they are not, because since yesterday afternoon I have not had contact with them as the telephone network has been down in this zone," Mohamed said Saturday.
In a statement released Saturday, ECOWAS commission president Kadre Desire Ouedraogo said the bloc had authorized the immediate deployment of troops to?Mali. He said they made the decision "in light of the urgency of the situation."
ECOWAS did not say how many troops would be sent to?Mali?or when they would arrive. It also did not specify which countries from the 15-nation bloc would be providing the forces.
ECOWAS has been talking for months about a military operation to oust the Islamists from northern?Mali. While the U.N. approved a plan for deployment, it had not been expected until September.
Al-Qaida's affiliate in Africa has been a shadowy presence for years in the forests and deserts of?Mali, a country hobbled by poverty and a relentless cycle of hunger. Most Malians adhere to a moderate form of Islam.
In recent months, however, the terrorist group and its allies have taken advantage of political instability, taking territory they are using to stock weapons and train forces.
Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/7-ZcKIXsywE/France-pushes-back-Mali-rebels-with-airstrikes
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