French airstrikes jolt Islamists in Mali
Malian soldiers inspect armed vehicles recovered from Islamist militants during fighting to retake the town of Konna, at the Malian military base in Sevare, central Mali, Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013. / AP Photo/Harouna Traore
Last Updated 5:06 p.m. ET
BAMAKO, Mali Backed by French air strikes, Malian forces appeared close to recapturing a key central town in Mali where bands of al Qaeda-linked fighters had holed up, France's defense minister said Sunday.
The French military has spent the last nine days helping the West African nation of Mali quash a jihadist rebellion in its vast northern desert. The comments Sunday from Jean-Yves Le Drian, however, appeared to cast some doubt on local military claims that the town of Diabaly had already been recaptured from the Islamists.
The town of 35,000, which hosts an important military camp, was taken over by al Qaeda-linked militants last week.
"Right now, the town of Diabaly is not retaken," Le Drian told France-5 TV. "(But) everything leads us to believe Diabaly is going to head in the positive direction in the coming hours."
The French military said its fighter planes and helicopter gunships had carried out a dozen operations in the previous 24 hours — half of them to strike "terrorist vehicles." The report came late Sunday in a statement on the military's Web site.
Previously, Mali's military had claimed the government was back in control of Diabaly — a potential breakthrough in the French-led campaign to oust extremists there.
The contrasting accounts were emblematic of the confusion in the embattled West African country, where French forces opened an air campaign on Jan. 11 and have been building up troop levels to help restore government control in central and northeast Mali.
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The zone around Diabaly remains blocked off by a military cordon and it is not possible to independently verify the information.
Video obtained by The Associated Press from Diabaly on Saturday showed burned-out vehicles, scattered bullets and several armored vehicles belonging to the Malian army lying abandoned and damaged along roadsides. Displaced residents and Malian officials described how Islamists fled the town on foot after days of French airstrikes that destroyed their vehicles.
For government supporters, the incursion signaled an alarming drive by the jihadists into central Mali — and closer to the capital of Bamako — from the base they have established in the country's vast northeast. The Islamists captured the Texas-sized northeastern expanse nine months ago, exploiting a power vacuum after a military coup in the distant capital.
Also Sunday, French forces extended their deployment northward from the central town of Markala, reinforcing their presence in the towns of Niono and Mopti, said Col. Thierry Burkhard, a French military spokesman.
The French statement said some 400 troops from Nigeria, Togo and Benin had arrived Sunday in Bamako to help train an African force for Mali. Troops from Chad, who are considered hardened fighters familiar with the desert-like terrain of northern Mali, also arrived in Mali, Le Drian said.
Overall, Le Drian said the French-led campaign against the militants was making progress. He said he wasn't aware of any civilian casualties and said the air strikes had caused "significant" — though unspecified — losses among the jihadists, and only minor skirmishes involved French forces on the ground.
Still, as they work to root out the jihadists and secure local populations, French and Malian forces also have to contend with some villagers who are backing the rebels.
"The war against the Islamists is not at all easy and there's a very small part of the population which is helping their cause," said Col. Seydou Sogoba, the Malian force commander in the Niono region. "That is what is making the fight against them tough."
France, which has received logistical support from Western allies and intelligence from the United States, ultimately hopes that troops from West African regional bloc ECOWAS will take the lead alongside Malian troops in securing the country, a former French colony.
Neighboring African countries are expected to contribute around 3,000 troops but concerns about the French mission have delayed several nations from sending their promised troops.
A donors' conference for the U.N.-backed Mali mission is being held in Ethiopia's capital of Addis Ababa on Jan. 29.
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northern part of Mali is a different tribe which have been exploited by the southern people for a longtime. Without caring for this fact France is bombing the oppressed.
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Almost. Northern Mali is generally occupied by the Tuareg people. In January, 2012, the Tuareg revolted against the central government (located in the South in Bamako). In March, the army staged a coup alleging that the government had done nothing about the rebellion. But the army did nothing. The confusion following the coup provided an opportunity for the rebels to take three more northern cities. But it also provided an opportunity for Ansar Dine, an Islamist group associated with Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb ("AQIM") to highjack the Tuareg rebellion, and they overthrew the Tuareg leaders, who lost their last remnant of power in mid-July, 2012. Since then, Ansar Dine has imposed a harsh version of Sharia law. In January, Ansar Dine began a move into central Mali, with a view to taking over the country entirely. The membership of Ansar Dine is partly Malian, but also Algerian and Nigerian.
So, no, the war is not against the Tuaregs as such.
Not even a FRENCH problem!
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You might want to learn a little history. Just as England and the USA, former parent and colony, have always maintained a special relationship, the same applies to France and the countries of West Africa which were former colonies of France. France once regarded Algeria as an integral part of France itself, not just a colony. (Algerians saw it differently.) So, France has always been there in a support position to aid the governments of these countries (again except for Algeria, which until recently has kept France at arm's length). So, when Mali's government directly asked France for military aid, France responded immediately.
This conflict is NOT Americas problem.
Stay out of it.
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And when the Taliban took over Afghanistan and allowed Al Qaeda free reign to attack America on 9-11, did it only become our problem on 9-11, or was it really our problem some time before that?
So you don't have a problem with Mali falling into the hands of the AQIM? Really?
West", we in the WEST need to intensify our efforts and send a clear, unambiguous message, that their sort of behavior will no longer be tolerated under ANY circumstances, for ANY reason. I applaude the French !!! Oui,Oui... zvcv
Blah,blah, blah....
This is America and you are not welcome.
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Who in hell are you to decide anything? Are you the authorized thought police? You seem to forget that America welcomes just about anyone including morons like you. LOL
With France not buying the lies pushed by war mongering idiots concerning the war in Iraq...
They lost the honor of the lead title of the fried spud....
House cafeterias will be serving fries with a side order of patriotism Tuesday with a decision by GOP lawmakers to replace the "French" cuisine with "freedom fries."
"This action today is a small but symbolic effort to show the strong displeasure of many on Capitol Hill with the actions of our so-called ally, France," said Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, chairman of the House Administration Committee.
Seems to fit..
"You have to think before acting."
Yea World the gop has NO purpose....Cept obstruction and naming fricken post offices...And more war if they had the chance... Been that way for some time...and is getting worse if thats possible..
Beyond Embarrassing...