Islamists flee French air strikes in Mali
2013-01-15 07:54
Bamako - French air strikes forced Islamist guerrillas to
flee towns in northern Mali and Paris secured new international support for
military action as the militants struck back, seizing a small western town.
The Islamists said they had made a "tactical
retreat" from Timbuktu and other key towns where they have imposed a
brutal version of Islamic law for nearly 10 months.
But they struck back in western Mali where they took the
small town of Diabaly from the country's weakened army, highlighting the
daunting campaign ahead to restore order in the West African nation.
French jets on Monday hit Douentza, 800km from Bamako, which
the Islamists have held since September. But residents said the fighters had
left before the warplanes arrived.
In Timbuktu, where inhabitants have been executed or had
limbs cut off in some of the worst abuses, the Islamists reportedly fled in
anticipation of an attack.
"The mujahideen have left. They are really
scared," said one resident in the historic city, where the militants have
destroyed centuries-old Muslim monuments.
In Gao, another northern city held by the Islamists, the
jihadists were nowhere to be seen after bombing by Rafale warplanes on Sunday,
residents there said.
At least 60 insurgents were killed in Sunday's assault,
according to residents and a security source.
Mali's Foreign Minister Tieman Hubert Coulibaly said in
Paris that he believed more than 100 Islamists had been killed in the four days
since France launched operations to stem a guerrilla advance towards Bamako.
Tactical retreat
A spokesperson for the Ansar Dine (Defenders of the Faith)
group, Senda Ould Boumama, said the withdrawal was a "tactical
retreat" to reduce civilian casualties, in comments published on
Mauritanian news website Alakhbar.
A leader of the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West
Africa (Mujao), vowed revenge. "France has attacked Islam. We will strike
at the heart of France," said Abou Dardar of the al-Qaeda-linked group.
On top of the use of Rafale fighters and helicopter attacks,
about 650 French troops are in Mali to halt the Islamist advance, according to
the French defence ministry.
While jolted by France's arrival, the insurgents remained on
the offensive in areas where French troops were not yet operating. The militants
seized Diabaly, some 400km north of Bamako.
"We knew there would be a counter-offensive towards the
west," French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told BFM Television.
"They have taken Diabaly, which is a small town, after
heavy fighting and resistance from the Malian army, which was insufficiently
equipped at that exact point."
Le Drian acknowledged that French forces were facing a
"difficult" situation in the west, where he said the rebels are well
armed.
France's Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius hailed the
"quasi-unanimous" international backing for the offensive, strongly
supported by Mali.
"We cannot simply push them back, we have to chase them
away," Coulibaly told French television after meeting Fabius. "We
simply now cannot allow a timeout for these forces to reorganise."
Logistical support
A meeting of the 15-nation UN Security Council on Mali also
expressed unanimous "understanding and support" for the military
intervention, France's UN ambassador Gerard Araud told reporters.
France and other council countries want to speed up the
deployment of a UN-mandated 3 300-strong West African intervention force in
Mali.
Nigeria, which will lead the force, plans to have 600 troops
on the ground "before next week," President Goodluck Jonathan said.
Benin, Ghana, Niger, Senegal, Burkina Faso and Togo have also pledged troops.
Britain and Canada have offered military transporters to the
French military and the United States said it will share intelligence and
provide logistical support.
"I commend France for taking the steps that it has,"
US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said.
Algeria said it had closed its 2 000km desert border with
northern Mali to stop Islamists crossing into the country.
The Islamists seized upon the chaos of a military coup in
Bamako in March to seize northern Mali, sparking widespread international fears
that they could set up a terrorist safe haven.
The UN Security Council had given approval for a military
offensive that UN officials had said could not be launched until September.
But the Islamist offensive and France's military
intervention has led to predictions by diplomats that the plans will be
reviewed.
