MALI: Malians in north say French ground troops give them the safety they need to return to normal activities, as Nigerian troops prepare their deployment from Bamako to reinforce them

Record ID: 235915

  • Title: MALI: Malians in north say French ground troops give them the safety they need to return to normal activities, as Nigerian troops prepare their deployment from Bamako to reinforce them
  • Date: 18th January 2013
  • Summary: PEOPLE WATCHING
  • Embargoed: 2nd February 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Mali
  • Country: Mali
  • Topics: Crime,Conflict,International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA53RV2QIPZNYG2431Y96UPT4N6
  • Story Text: The mayor Diabaly, in the centre of Mali, said French and Malian soldiers had wrested control of the town from rebels on Friday (January 18). But in nearby Markala, to the south of Diabaly, a Malian army commander said he could not confirm it had been recaptured.
    West African reinforcements arrived in the capital Bamako on Friday to boost the contingent of French troops and take on the insurgents dominating the north of Mali.
    France, warning that Islamist control over Mali's vast desert north threatens the security of Africa and the West, had targeted Diabaly in an eighth day of air strikes aimed at dislodging hardened al Qaeda-linked fighters there.
    The Malian military commander in Markala confirmed ground forces were operating in Diabaly, which lies about 360 km (220 miles) northeast of Bamako.
    If officially confirmed, it would be a second military success for the French-led military alliance after Islamists on Thursday (January 17) night abandoned Konna, to the north of the central garrison town of Sevare.
    French troops and tanks could be seen in the Markala area on Friday. A contingent of Nigerian soldiers also arrived in the capital Bamako.
    In Sarakala, a small village about 15km outside Markala on the road to Niono, south of Diabaly, Koura Coulibaly who is in charge of a health post said she was feeling much safer with a squad of French special forces camping near the village.

    "At the beginning we were scared, really we were scared, honestly we were scared. But now, where we stand today, really thank God, because there are soldiers everywhere all around us," she said.

    "With the problems we have now, patients are not coming anymore. They are afraid. Since the whole thing started I haven't seen a single car," Coulibaly added.
    French President Francois Hollande ordered the intervention on the grounds that the Islamists could turn northern Mali into a "terrorist state" radiating threats beyond its borders.
    Despite threats from militants to attack French interests around the world, France, which now has 1,800 troops on the ground in Mali, has pledged to keep them there until stability returns to the poor, landlocked West African nation.
    ENDS
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