French, Malian troops continue advancement, restore government in Timbuktu
France and Mali's fast-moving offensive, using air strikes to target militant bases and strongholds, has successfully pushed Islamists further north. On Sunday, troops worked to secure Timbuktu and its ancient historic sites.
Malian soldiers man a checkpoint on the Gao road outside Sevare, some 385 miles north of Mali's capital Bamako, Sunday. French and Malian troops held a strategic bridge and the airport in the northern town of Gao on Sunday as their force also pressed toward Timbuktu, another stronghold of Islamic extremists in northern Mali, officials said.
Jerome Delay/AP
Bamako/Sevare, Mali
French and Malian troops were on Sunday restoring government control over the fabled Saharan trading town of聽, the latest gain in a fast-moving French-led offensive against al Qaeda-allied fighters occupying聽.
罢丑别听聽militant rebels have pulled back northwards to avoid relentless French air strikes that have destroyed their bases, vehicles and weapons, allowing French and Malian troops to advance rapidly with air support and armoured vehicles.
A Malian military source told Reuters the French and Malian forces reached "the gates of聽" late on Saturday without meeting resistance from the聽聽insurgents who had held the town since last year.
The advancing troops were working on securing the town, a UNESCO World Heritage site and labyrinth of ancient mosques and monuments and mud-brick homes, ready to flush out any聽聽fighters who might still be hiding among the population.
"聽is delicate, you can't just go in like that," the source, who asked not to be named, said.
On Saturday, the French-Malian offensive recaptured聽, which along with聽聽was one of three major northern towns occupied last year by Tuareg and聽聽rebels who included fighters from al Qaeda's聽聽wing AQIM.
The third town, Kidal, remains in rebel hands.
罢丑别听听补苍诲听聽are backing the U.N.-尘补苍诲补迟别诲听聽operation as a counterstrike against the threat of radical聽聽jihadists using the West African state's inhospitable Sahara desert as a launching pad for international attacks.
翱苍别听聽resident now outside the town said a friend inside had sent him SMS messages saying he had seen government troops on the streets, but gave no more details.
Fighters from the聽聽alliance in聽, which groups AQIM with Malian聽聽group Ansar Dine and AQIM splinter MUJWA, had destroyed ancient shrines sacred to moderate Sufi Moslems in聽, provoking international outrage.
They had also imposed severe sharia, Islamic law, including amputations for thieves and stoning of adulterers.聽
聽MAYOR BACK IN OFFICE
Malian government control was restored in聽聽on Saturday, after French special forces backed by warplanes and helicopters seized the town's airport and a key bridge. Around a dozen "terrorists" were killed in the assault, while French forces suffered no losses or injuries,听's defence ministry said.
The Islamists seemed to be pulling back further north into the trackless desert wastes and mountain fastnesses of the Sahara, from where some military experts fear they could carry on a hit-and-run guerrilla war against the government.
Officials said the mayor of聽,听, who had taken refuge in Bamako during the聽聽occupation, had been reinstalled at the head of the local administration while French, Malian, Chadian and Nigerien troops secured the town and the surrounding area.
As the French and Malian troops push into聽, African troops from a continental intervention force expected to number 7,700 are being flown into the country, despite delays due to logistical problems and the lack of airlift capacity.
The robust military action by聽聽over the past two weeks in its former Sahel colony has left African leaders embarrassed about the continent's inability to quickly field its own force to restore the territorial integrity of an African state.
At an聽聽summit in聽, outgoing AU chairman聽, president of聽, criticised聽's slow response to the Isla mist insurgency in聽, and welcomed international support for the French-led operation.
"How could it be that when faced with a danger that threatens its very foundations,听, although it had the means to defend itself, continued to wait," Yayi told African leaders on Sunday after handing over the AU chair to.
TWO-PRONGED OFFENSIVE
聽sent warplanes and 2,500 troops to聽, formerly French Sudan, after its government appealed to聽for help when Isla mist rebel columns early in January launched an offensive towards the southern capital Bamako. The rebels seized several towns, since recaptured by the French.
Around 1,900 African troops, including Chadian, have been deployed to聽聽so far as part of the planned U.S.-based African intervention force, known as AFISMA.
Bur kina Fatso,听,听,听,听,听听补苍诲听聽are providing troops while聽聽and other African nations have pledged to contribute.
While the French and Malians thrust northeast in a two-pronged offensive through聽听补苍诲听, Chadian and local forces in neighboring聽聽are preparing a flanking thrust against the Isla mists coming up from the south.
Washington and聽聽governments, while providing airlift and intelligence support to the anti-militant offensive in聽, are not planning to send in any combat troops.
The AU is expected to seek hundreds of millions of dollars in logistical support and funding for the AFISMA force at a conference of donors for the聽聽operation to be held in Addis Ababa on Jan. 29.
Reporting by Tiemoko Diallo in Bamako,听聽in Sevare,听, Joe Bavier in Abidjan, Richard Lough and Aaron Maasho in聽; Writing by Pascal Fletcher; editing by Philippa Fletcher