MaliFrench forces push deep into north Mali, capture Gao

Published 28 January 2013

French military forces, supported by Malian forces, continue to push north into Islamist-controlled north Mali, and on Saturday captured the strategic city of Gao. French prime minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said that having chased the Islamists out of the Gao region, the French force was closing in on Timbuktu, north Mali’s main city. The initial phase of the military operation consists of liberating the large population centers of north Mali from Islamist control, and chasing the jihadists into the empty desert – and do so before the rainy season begins in March.

French armor penetrates northern Mali // Source: guhantai.com

French military forces, supported by Malian forces, continue to push north into Islamist-controlled north Mali, and on Saturday captured the strategic city of Gao.

French prime minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said that having chased the Islamists out of the Gao region, the French force was closing in on Timbuktu, north Mali’s main city. In addition to moving more quickly on the ground, confronting and chasing the retreating Islamist fighting groups, the French air force escalated its bombing and strafing campaign against Islamist targets in and around the large town of Kidal.

A French army source told AFP that the Gao home of the head of Ansar Dine, the main militant Islamist group in northern Mali, had been destroyed in an air raid.

The New York Times reports that the initial phase of the military operation consists of liberating the large population centers of north Mali from Islamist control, and chasing the jihadists into the empty desert. Capturing population centers like Gao, Timbuktu, and Kidal requires precise air bombing campaign and ground operations, both of which are more difficult to conduct during the rainy season which begins in March. The heavy clouds which cover much of Mali during the rainy season make an air campaign more difficult, while the muddy terrain limits the movement of off-road vehicles.

The French Defense Ministry spokesman, Col. Thierry Burkhard, said Sunday morning that troops from Mali, Nigeria, and Chad were now deploying in Gao after French special forces took the city’s airport and a strategic bridge on Saturday.

“The taking of control of Gao, which has between 50,000 and 60,000 inhabitants, by Malian, Chadian and Nigerian soldiers is under way,” Colonel Burkhard said.

Al Jazeera broadcast a statement from al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in which the group admitted it had withdrawn its forces from some cities in north Mali.

The United States is also becoming more involved in the French effort, and on Sunday a Pentagon spokespan said that the United States would provide aerial refueling for French warplanes operating over Mali.

Until Sunday, the United States helped the French with transporting French troops and equipment, and also provided intelligence, including satellite photographs.

The African Union (AU) leaders have been meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, this weekend. The AU states have pledged nearly 5,700 troops to support French and Malian campaign.

The EU pledged €50 million to support this multinational force. The EU also said it would allocate further €250 million in development money for the region.

The French force in the campaign now numbers 3,700 troops, of which 2,500 are ground troops operating in Mali, and 1,200 are pilots and air force ground crews stationed in military air bases in several of Mali’s neighbors.