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French forces have launched an air strike on the southern fringe of the Sahara, intervening to help Mali’s army stop al-Qaeda fighters from advancing towards the country’s capital.
President François Hollande declared that Mali’s very existence was threatened by “terrorist aggression”, adding: “French army forces supported Malian units this afternoon to fight against terrorist elements.”
The battle came after hundreds of Islamist gunmen struck beyond their stronghold in northern Mali and seized the town of Konna in the central region on Thursday.
This placed them less than 40 miles from Mopti, the last garrison town protecting the road to the capital, Bamako. President Dioncounda Traore of Mali appealed for help from France, the former colonial power, and a counter-attack began Friday with the aim of retaking Konna.
The results of Friday's air strike were not yet clear.
“Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb” (AQIM) and its local allies captured three regions of northern Mali last year, gaining control over 300,000 square miles. In the past week, they have begun moving southwards and taking even more territory.
Mr Hollande’s decision to allow the French army to support Malian units could be a change of policy. Despite its permanent military presence in Africa, including a base in neighbouring Senegal, France had previously ruled out deploying combat troops in Mali, promising help with training, logistics and intelligence instead. France has also secured agreement for a plan to send 3,000 African troops to recapture northern Mali in alliance with the national army.
But AQIM’s latest advance has overtaken these efforts. Mr Hollande told the French diplomatic corps that the extremists had “tried to strike a fatal blow to the very existence of Mali”. He said: “France, like its African partners and the entire international community, cannot accept that.
“I have decided that France will respond without delay and alongside our partners, to the request of the Malian authorities. We will do it strictly in the framework of UN Security Council resolutions and we are ready to stop the terrorist offensive if it continues.”
British Foreign Minister William Hague said the UK supports the French decision.
Exactly what support the French army is giving to the Malian forces is unclear. An official in Paris noted that France was able to deploy air power in Mali “very quickly”. He added: “When you say that you are ready to intervene, you have to be.”
In recent years, France has launched air strikes against rebels in countries such as Chad and the Central African Republic. The French air force also played a leading role, alongside the RAF, in the Nato air campaign in Libya in 2011.
A C-160 transport plane landed soon after sunset on Thursday in Sevare, a town that neighbours Mopti. Some of the soldiers who disembarked are reported to have been European.
The French foreign ministry has advised all citizens to leave the country unless they have an “essential” reason to stay. However, Mr Hollande’s decisions will be complicated by the fact that AQIM is holding eight French citizens hostage. In all, the group has about a dozen European captives, probably kept in its haven in northern Mali.
This vast region includes airports, arms dumps and military bases. It also lies across a trans-Saharan smuggling route used to run drugs to Europe. About 1.3 million people lived in the area before the AQIM insurgents and rebels from the local Tuareg tribe seized control, with their forces concentrated in the towns of Timbuktu, Gao and Kidal. Food shortages are acute and hundreds of thousands of refugees have fled.
The insurgents have imposed Sharia and desecrated shrines in Timbuktu, claiming that they were idolatrous.
While AQIM is unlikely to mount a frontal assault on Bamako, they could try to infiltrate the capital and subvert it from within.
Western governments fear that the longer they stay in control of northern Mali, the greater the risk that the region will become a centre for organising attacks. African countries would probably be the first targets, but Europe could eventually be threatened. AQIM will also have the opportunity to strengthen its grip over the north.
France launches air strike on al-Qaeda in Mali - Telegraph
Troops from Nigeria, Senegal, France back Mali: army
Troops from Nigeria, Senegal and France were deployed in Mali on Friday supporting government forces in their offensive against Islamists in the country's centre, a Malian army officer said.
"As we speak to you, troops from Nigeria, Senegal and France are in support of the Malian army in Sevare," in central Mali, Colonel Oumar Dao told a press conference in the capital Bamako.
"These troops arrived with the materiel needed to counter the situation," said Dao, the head of military operations for the army's chief of staff.
The move occurred as the Malian army on Friday launched a counter-offensive to recover the central town of Konna that was captured Thursday by the Islamists.
He gave no details on the number of troops, or the quantity and type of materiel deployed.
"Other friendly countries have already come forward and we are waiting for them," Dao said without elaborating.
Discussing the situation in Konna, he said: "It's the start of military operations. There's an offensive and we have put on our side the means needed to recapture the town."
Earlier Friday, another army officer told AFP that the counter-offensive was conducted from Sevare, a community situated about 70 kilometers south of Konna where the Malian army has an operational command post.
http://www.expatica.com/fr/news/fre...ria-senegal-france-back-mali-army_255198.html
WTF is going on ??? There is Al-Qaeda in Mali ?
