A French force of 1,000 soldiers in a major offensive has swept a valley thought to be a logistics base for Al-Qaeda-linked Islamists near the Malian city of Gao.
Operation Gustav, one of France’s largest actions since its intervention in its former colony, involves dozens of tanks, helicopters and aircraft, said General Bernard Barrera, commander of the French land forces in Mali, on Monday.
“We surrounded the valley north of Gao, which we believe serves as a logistics base for jihadist groups, and we began to search methodically,” said Barrera, who is based in Gao, the largest settlement in northeastern Mali.
The city, 1,200km from the capital Bamako, was a stronghold of the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), one of the Islamist militias which occupied the north until French-led forces dislodged them in January.
It suffered the first suicide bombings in Mali’s history in February and has been the scene of deadly clashes between French-Malian forces and jihadists over the last two weeks.
No Islamist fighters were encountered on the first day of Operation Gustav, launched at dawn on Sunday, but troops said they neutralised around 340 artillery shells and high-calibre rockets and destroyed a Toyota pick-up truck.