French and Malian forces approach Timbuktu

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

French and Malian forces approach Timbuktu

Luke Harding in Sévaré and Kim Willsher in Paris and agencies
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 27 January 2013 12.24 GMT

French and Malian troops have held a strategic bridge and the airport in the northern town of Gao as their force presses towards Timbuktu, officials say.

The advances come as French and African land forces also make their way to Gao from neighbouring Niger in an effort to defeat the al-Qaida-linked Islamists who seized control of northern Mali more than nine months ago.

The French military announced late on Saturday it had liberated Gao, though other officials said the fight to control the area was in progress. Lieutenant Colonel Diarran Kone, a spokesman for Mali's defence minister, said on Sunday the forces were patrolling the town and had maintained their hold over the bridge and airport overnight.

The advance marked the biggest achievement for the French and Malian troops since they began their operation to oust the Islamist radicals two weeks ago.

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Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/27/french-malian-forces-approach-timbuktu

[DCBob]

1. secured..

(Reuters) - French and Malian troops were on Sunday restoring government control over the fabled Saharan trading town of Timbuktu, the latest gain in a fast-moving French-led offensive against al Qaeda-allied fighters occupying northern Mali.

The Islamist militant rebels have pulled back northwards to avoid relentless French air strikes that have destroyed their bases, vehicles and weapons, allowing French and Malian troops to advance rapidly with air support and armored vehicles.

A Malian military source told Reuters the French and Malian forces reached "the gates of Timbuktu" late on Saturday without meeting resistance from the Islamist insurgents who had held the town since last year.

The advancing troops were working on securing the town, a UNESCO World Heritage site and labyrinth of ancient mosques and monuments and mud-brick homes, ready to flush out any Islamist fighters who might still be hiding among the population.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/27/us-mali-rebels-idUSBRE90O0C720130127

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very good news indeed.