Mali is being joined by
France -- its former colonial ruler, which recently sent troops there --
as it tries to beat back advances by forces linked to al Qaeda. Much
action recently has focused in and around the key northern city of
Konna, which insurgents took on Thursday only to retreat the following
day after a combined air and ground assault.
"There were many deaths
on both sides, both rebels and government soldiers," Malian defense
ministry spokesman Lt. Col. Diara Kone said Saturday of the fighting in
the northern part of the country. The government, in a statement read on
state TV, said 11 of its soldiers died and about 60 were wounded in the
battle for Konna.
The French pilot died
while taking part Friday afternoon in an aerial operation targeting a
terrorist group moving on the town of Mopti, near Konna, French Defense
Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said.
The aerial offensive --
which includes strikes
by French fighter jets -- continued through
Friday night and into Saturday, the minister added.
"Every means was used in
fighting the Islamists, including two attack helicopters. They sent the
Islamists fleeing," Kone told CNN. "This shows that the Malian army is
capable to fight."
French President Francois
Hollande also cheered after "a blow was delivered and heavy losses were
inflicted," which he credited in part to the efforts of his nation's
troops.
"But our mission is not over," he said Saturday.
The Islamist forces'
movement in recent days from their strongholds in the deserts of
northern Mali prompted France to help address what Le Drian called a
"serious" and deteriorating situation, even as France has resisted
efforts to get involved in curbing other rebellions in such former
colonies as the Central African Republic.
Mali's interim President
Dioncounda Traore declared a state of emergency nationwide Friday and
called for "a general mobilization" to defend against the radical
Islamists' advance.
"Terrorist groups want
to destabilize the country," the French minister said. "We are
determined to prevent them doing so, within the strict framework of
international law."
Radical Islamists make push southward
After decades of
military rule, Mali held its first democratic elections in 1992. It
remained stable politically until March, when a group of soldiers
toppled the government, saying it had not provided adequate support for
them to fight ethnic Tuareg rebels in the country's largely desert
north.
Tuareg rebels, who'd
sought independence for decades, took advantage of the power vacuum and
seized swaths of land. A power struggle then erupted in the north
between the Tuaregs and local al Qaeda-linked radicals, who themselves
wound up in control of a large area as the Tuaregs retreated.
The United Nations says
amputations, floggings and public executions -- like the stoning of a
couple in July, who'd reportedly had an affair -- became common in areas
controlled by radical Islamists. They applied a strict interpretation
of Sharia law by banning music, smoking, drinking and watching sports on
television, and damaged Timbuktu's historic tombs and shrines.
Map showing French troop movements January 11 t in Mali.
Already, the armed
groups' activity -- along with a pervasive drought -- has led hundreds
of thousands of Malians to be displaced.
And the Islamists'
movement southward has raised concerns among leaders in West Africa and
elsewhere, some of them calling for swift and decisive military
intervention to aid Mali's government, based in Bamako.
The Economic Community
of West African States plans to hold an emergency meeting in Abidjan,
Ivory Coast, to prepare to send troops to Mali to help government
forces, a spokesman for the organization said.
The spokesman, Sunny
Ugoh, said West African troops are expected to number 3,500 and will
operate in the framework of the United Nations resolutions.
The meeting will also discuss any "additional measures need to be taken," he added.
Several hundred French troops have been deployed to Mali, where about 6,000 French citizens live, according to Le Drian.
"Our determination to
combat terrorism is total," the French defense minister said. "France
will do all it can to combat the jihadist groups who have launched this
offensive in recent days."
'The terrorists' breakthrough must be stopped'
Hollande said the influx
of troops from his nation and others is to "allow Mali to recover its
territorial integrity in accordance with U.N. Security Council
resolutions."
"France, in this
operation, is not pursuing any interest ... other than safeguarding a
friendly country, and (France) does not have any goal other than
fighting against terrorism," the French president said Saturday. "That
is why its action is supported by the international community and
saluted by all African countries."
Though its troops are
posted in locations around Africa, French leaders earlier said they
wouldn't send combat troops to Mali and that they'd scale back France's
military interventions on the continent.
So its decision to get
involved in Mali, an operation Hollande said "will last as long as
necessary," underlies the seriousness of France's concern about the
situation there. French hostages have been taken in neighboring Niger by
al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, and Paris appears intent on containing
any further militant expansion in the heart of Africa.
"The terrorists'
breakthrough must be stopped," said French Foreign Minister Laurent
Fabius, justifying France's efforts "to train and reshape the Malian
army." "If not, (all of) Mali falls into their hands, with a threat to
the whole of Africa and Europe."
The U.N. Security
Council last month authorized a one-year military peacekeeping mission
in the country. ECOWAS members pledged thousands of troops, and the
Security Council has urged other nations to contribute forces as well.
Hollande spoke Saturday
evening with British Prime Minister David Cameron, who consented for the
United Kingdom to "provide logistical military assistance to help
transport foreign troops and equipment quickly to Mali" -- but no
"British personnel in a combat role" -- a Downing Street spokesman said.
France has been in
contact with U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta about the situation, as
well as its African and European allies, according to Le Drian.
The U.S. military is
weighing its options -- which could include logistical support and
intelligence sharing with France -- said a U.S. defense official, who
declined to be named because no decisions have been made.
"This is a serious
issue, and ... the United States is committed to going after terrorists
wherever they may be in order to protect American interests, but also
those of our partners and allies around the world," Pentagon spokesman
George Little said this week.
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