Rebels losing key city in Mali
French-malian force takes airport, bridge
KONNA, Mali • French and Malian troops regained control of the airport and bridge of the crucial city of Gao on Saturday, marking their biggest advance yet in their bid to oust al-Qaida-linked extremists who have controlled northern Mali for months.
The move comes just two weeks after France launched its military offensive in support of the shaky, central government of this former French colony. It is unclear what kind of resistance French and Malian troops will face in the coming days.
The French said their special forces, which had stormed in by land and by air, had come under fire from “several terrorist elements” that were later “destroyed.” In a later press release, the French ministry of defence said they were bringing back the town’s mayor, Sadou Diallo, who had fled to the capital of Bamako.
However, a city official said coalition forces so far only controlled the airport, the bridge and surrounding neighbourhoods.
And in Paris, a defence ministry official clarified that the city had not been fully liberated, and that the process of freeing Gao was continuing.
Gao, the largest city in northern Mali, was seized by a mixture of al-Qaida-linked fighters more than nine months ago, and the battle to retake the city is expected to be tough.
The rebel group that turned Gao into a replica of Afghanistan under the Taliban has close ties to Moktar Belmoktar, the Algerian national who has long operated in Mali and who last week claimed responsibility for the terror attack on a BP-operated natural gas plant in Algeria. His fighters are believed to include Algerians, Egyptians, Mauritanians, Libyans, Tunisians, Pakistanis and even Afghans.
The assault began with the capture of the airport, a strategic landing strip that opens the way for easier sorties all over northern Mali. The further capture of a major bridge leading into the town means the jihadists “saw their means of transport and their logistics sites destroyed,” French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in a statement.
U.S. aerial refuelling planes would be a boost to air support for French ground forces as they enter areas of Mali that are controlled by alQaida-linked extremists.