Civilians Could Pay Heavy Price As France Uses Air Strikes To Block Advance Of Islamist Rebels
Source: Globe and Mail
When the bombs rained down, the people of Konna rushed to hide. Some flung themselves into the river. Many did not survive – including three children who drowned in the river as they struggled to escape.
The children were among the first civilian casualties of a rapidly escalating military offensive. French warplanes launched attacks on at least five towns in central and northern Mali on the weekend, and there are growing fears that civilians could be caught in the middle of the fighting.
France’s hasty military operation, which scuttled a plan for a gradual buildup of carefully trained African ground forces, was triggered by a sudden southward push by the Islamist rebels who already control the northern two-thirds of Mali and were threatening to move southward to capture key cities in the centre of the country.
Western governments, including Canada, are deeply worried that the Islamist rebels could provide a major African stronghold for terrorist groups such as al- Qaeda, which already has an affiliate in Mali.
Read more: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/civilians-could-pay-heavy-price-as-france-uses-air-strikes-to-block-advance-of-islamist-rebels/article7317583/
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