France launches air strike on al-Qaeda in Mali
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.
This video grab reportedly shows al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) fighters preparing for war in northern Mali. Photo: AFP/GETTY
By Henry Samuel, in Paris, Mike Pflanz in Nairobi and David Blair
6:25PM GMT 11 Jan 2013
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.
Just hours after the assault was launched, reports claimed that Malian forces had successfully retaken Konna with French military support. "We are there now," Lieutenant Colonel Diaran Kone told Reuters.
"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.
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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.
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.
This video grab reportedly shows al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) fighters preparing for war in northern Mali. Photo: AFP/GETTY
By Henry Samuel, in Paris, Mike Pflanz in Nairobi and David Blair
6:25PM GMT 11 Jan 2013
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.
Just hours after the assault was launched, reports claimed that Malian forces had successfully retaken Konna with French military support. "We are there now," Lieutenant Colonel Diaran Kone told Reuters.
"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.
Related Articles
France to help Mali take on Islamist rebels
11 Jan 2013
Mali asks for help from France as Islamists push on
11 Jan 2013
Al-Qaeda advances from Mali stronghold
08 Jan 2013
Islamists destroy Timbuktu's mausoleums
24 Dec 2012
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.
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