bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Malian government forces yesterday launched an offensive against Islamists controlling the north of the country with backing from the French and other foreign military, military and political sources said.
The attack was aimed at stemming advances made by al-Qaeda-linked radicals who this week triggered international alarm with a push south towards the capital, Bamako, a military officer said.
"Our offensive has started," the officer said. "The objective is to retake total control of the town of Konna and to proceed from there."
He added that "military planes from friendly countries" were being used in the offensive, while a Malian government official said the operation had the support of French and European armed forces.
With the situation on the ground developing rapidly, France advised all its expatriates not involved in essential services to leave Mali immediately.
French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian was in contact with US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta and was due to talk to his British and German counterparts late yesterday.
The offensive came a day after Mali's government appealed to France, the former colonial power, and the United Nations for help in pushing back the Islamists.
As well as capturing Konna, the rebel forces have moved about 1,200 Islamist fighters to within 20 kilometres of Mopti, a strategically important town on the frontier between rebel-held and government-held territories.
French President Francois Hollande responded to Mali's appeal yesterday by saying Paris was ready to help, under the auspices of the UN.
The UN Security Council has already given its blessing for a 3,000-strong African force to be sent to Mali but it will not be ready to deploy before September at the earliest.
That has put pressure on France to act quickly and Hollande acknowledged that the situation had become critical.


Foreign troops join in attack on Mali rebels

Hollande says France is ready to help repel Islamists under the auspices of UN

Foreign troops join in attack on Mali rebels

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Hollande says France is ready to help repel Islamists under the auspices of UN

Hollande says France is ready to help repel Islamists under the auspices of UN