French in tough fight in northern Mali
2013-02-27 08:59
Paris - France's defence minister said on Tuesday that
French troops are involved in "very violent fighting" in the
mountains of northern Mali and that it's too early to talk about a quick
pullout from the West African country, despite the growing cost of the
intervention.
The fighting against Islamic extremists in the Adrar des
Ifoghas mountains has been going on for days. A clash in the area killed 23
soldiers from neighboring Chad on Friday, according to a letter from French
President Francois Hollande expressing condolences to his Chadian counterpart.
Soldiers from Chad and a few other African countries have
joined the French-led operation to help Mali's weak military push back
extremists who had imposed harsh rule on northern Mali and started moving
toward the capital last month.
On Tuesday, the Obama administration imposed sanctions on an
Islamic rebel leader whose extremist group seized much of northern Mali last
year and prompted the French military intervention. The US State Department
designated Iyad Ag Ghali, head of the Islamic group Ansar Dine, a global
terrorist. The action blocks any assets he holds in the US and prohibits
Americans from doing business with him.
The UN also added Ag Ghali to its global sanctions list.
Ag Ghali's armed extremists conquered much of northern Mali
after a military coup in Mali's capital, aided by al-Qaeda's North Africa wing.
In Timbuktu, he imposed strict Shariah law and forced thousands to flee; others
were tortured and executed. But the French-led intervention in January has turned
the tide, forcing back Ag Ghali's rebels to mountainous hideouts near the
Algeria border.
French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on France's
RTL radio Tuesday that the French intervention in Mali has cost more than $133m
since it started on January 11.
Severe food crisis
In the first weeks of the campaign, French and Malian forces
easily took back cities in northern Mali. But the fighting is rougher now that
it has reached more remote terrain in the mountains of the southern Sahara.
"We are now at the heart of the conflict," in
protracted fighting in the Adrar des Ifoghas mountains, Le Drian said. While
some have suggested starting a pullout of the 4 000-strong French force next
month, Le Drian said he couldn't talk about a quick withdrawal while the
mountain fighting goes on.
Hollande's letter to Chadian President Idriss Deby said the
deaths of Chadian soldiers "illustrate the dangers of this mission."
It gave no details. The Chadian army had initially said that 13 soldiers and 65
Islamic extremist rebels were killed in the fighting Friday.
At the United Nations in New York, a top UN humanitarian
official said on Tuesday that as security improves in Mali, the world must
seize the moment to deliver much-needed humanitarian aid.
John Ging, a senior humanitarian affairs official who just
visited Mali, said that country's northern region is stabilizing but needs help
re-opening schools, markets and health clinics. The UN is appealing for $373m in
aid, but has only received $17m.
Even before fighting erupted last year among government
forces, Taureg rebels and radical Islamists, Ging said Mali was suffering from
the severe food crisis that has hit Africa's arid Sahel region.
Ging said more than 430 000 Malians have been displaced.
- AP
