NIGER: A resident from the Malian town of Gao who fled to Niger on the weekend, says most of the Islamists had already fled Gao before French aerial strikes began
Record ID:
235931
NIGER: A resident from the Malian town of Gao who fled to Niger on the weekend, says most of the Islamists had already fled Gao before French aerial strikes began
- Title: NIGER: A resident from the Malian town of Gao who fled to Niger on the weekend, says most of the Islamists had already fled Gao before French aerial strikes began
- Date: 27th January 2013
- Summary: AYAROU, NIGER (JANUARY 27,2013) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF AYAROU SUNDAY MARKET (SOUNDBITE) (French) ALHASSANE ADAMA TOURE, GAO RESIDENT WHO FLED TO NIGER, SAYING: "The day before yesterday, after the seven p.m. prayer, the planes started bombardments until three in the morning. All the hits were aimed only at suspect places and mine locations. At the same time, the others were hitting the Islamist positions the others were dropping off military - up until the moment they had total control of the airport." WOMEN ON A HORSE CART ENTERING MARKET (SOUNDBITE) (French) ALHASSANE ADAMA TOURE, GAO RESIDENT WHO FLED TO NIGER, SAYING: "Yesterday morning when I left, the head of the Islamists who runs the city of Gao, his name is Abdoul Hakin, we saw him on the road coming from the airport, and then he turned back." YOUNG TUAREG GIRL AT THE MARKET (SOUNDBITE) (French) ALHASSANE ADAMA TOURE, GAO RESIDENT WHO FLED TO NIGER, SAYING: "A lot of Islamists had already left the town, they are hiding in the trees and in the bush. But in the actual town they have disappeared." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE GOING AND COMING IN THE MARKET
- Embargoed: 11th February 2013 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Niger
- Country: Niger
- Topics: Crime,War / Fighting
- Reuters ID: LVA2WC5UQ9FTVN1N14RBU3V8YMI4
- Story Text: Crowds at the weekly market in Ayarou, Niger, have decreased since French and African forces began fighting Islamist rebels in nearby Mali, but there were still some customers at the market on Sunday (January 27).
Over the weekend a French-Malian offensive retook the town of Gao 244 kilometres to the north of the Nigerian town.
Ayarou is also home to the United Nation's Tabareybarey Refugee Camp, so many Malians fleeing fighting in the north have come through the town.
Alhassane Adama Toure left his home in Gao on Saturday night, when he witnessed French airstrikes against Islamist strongholds in the town.
"The day before yesterday, after the seven p.m. prayer, the planes started bombardments until three in the morning. All the hits were aimed only at suspect places and mine locations. At the same time, some were hitting the Islamist positions the others were dropping off military - up until the moment they had total control of the airport," he said.
Toure, who preferred not to be interviewed in public about the fighting he witnessed, said he saw many of the Islamists fleeing the town.
"Yesterday morning when I left, the head of the Islamists who runs the city of Gao, his name is Abdoul Hakin, we saw him on the road coming from the airport, and then he turned back," he added.
Gao, along with Timbuktu and Kidal, was one of three major northern towns occupied last year by Tuareg and Islamist rebels who included fighters from al Qaeda's North Africa wing AQIM. A Malian military source, and at least one resident of Gao who travelled south out of the city, said there were still rebel "pockets of resistance" there, and that government troops were carrying out house-to-house searches.
According to Toure, many of the fighters were hiding in the desert terrain outside of the town.
"A lot of Islamists had already left the town, they are hiding in the trees and in the bush, but in the actual town, they have disappeared," he said.
France sent warplanes and 2,500 troops to Mali after its government appealed to Paris for help when Islamist rebels early in January launched an offensive south towards the capital Bamako. They seized several towns, since retaken by the French. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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