France Sends Troops to Mali to Help Counter Islamist Advance [View all]
Source: The New York Times
BAMAKO, Mali - France sent armed forces into combat in Mali on Friday, answering an urgent plea from the government of its former colony in West Africa to help blunt a sudden and aggressive advance into the center of the country by Islamist extremist militants who have been in control of the north for much of the past year.
French officials confirmed that the French forces, which included paratroopers and helicopter gunships, had engaged in fighting with the Islamists after landing at a major airfield in the central Mali town of Sévaré.
It was not immediately clear how many French troops had been sent or from where, but a Western diplomat in neighboring Niger said the Islamist forces numbered between 800 and 900 fighters, with about 200 vehicles.
"French forces brought their support this afternoon to Malian army units to fight against terrorist elements," President François Hollande of France said in a statement to reporters in Paris. "This operation will last as long as necessary."
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/12/world/africa/mali-islamist-rebels-france.html
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