Mali forces advance towards Timbuktu

Mali forces backed by French troops are advancing towards the northern key town of Timbuktu after seizing the rebel stronghold of Gao, French officials have said.
French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault issued the statement on Sunday after French airstrikes forced the al-Qaeda-linked fighters from northern areas, clearing the way for the ground offensive.

Ayrault said the troops were currently “around Gao and (will be) soon near Timbuktu,” further west.

Timbuktu, which has served as a centre of Islamic education for centuries, has been under the control of rebels for about 10 months.

Meanwhile, the US has agreed to Paris’ request to help provide vital refuelling for the ongoing French air offensive in Mali.

US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta told his French counterpart, Jean-Yves Le Drian on Saturday that Washington would send tankers to help refuel French jets, a Pentagon spokesman said.

They also discussed plans for the Americans to transport troops from African nations, including Chad and Togo, to facilitate the international effort in Mali.

“The objective is that the African multinational force being put together be able to take over, and that Mali be able to begin a process of political stabilisation,” Ayrault said.

A Malian security source in Gao told AFP news agency by telephone that a first contingent of Malian, Chadian and Niger troops had arrived in Gao to help secure it, having been flown in from Niamey, capital of neighbouring Niger.

Other soldiers from Chad and Niger were moving by land toward the Malian border from the Niger town of Ouallam, which lies about 100km southeast of Gao.

Source: Al Jazeera