Reuters: Most Read Articles: French, Malians reach Timbuktu in rebel-held north: source

Reuters: Most Read Articles Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

French, Malians reach Timbuktu in rebel-held north: source Jan 27th 2013, 12:27 Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Outgoing AU chief condemns Africa's response to Mali crisis 7:27am EST Analysis & Opinion The big cliff that Nate Silver didn’t see The Hillary doctrine? Related Topics World » Africa » Mali » Related Video Sat, Jan 26 2013 France pushes Mali rebels back 1 of 19. Malian soldiers ride in a Malian army pickup truck in Diabaly January 26, 2013. Credit: Reuters/Joe Penney BAMAKO/SEVARE, Mali | Sun Jan 27, 2013 7:27am EST BAMAKO/SEVARE, Mali (Reuters) - French and Malian troops advancing against Islamist rebels in northern Mali have reached Timbuktu, the fabled Saharan trading town occupied last year by al Qaeda-allied fighters, a Malian military source said on Sunday. "They've gone past Niafounke and since yesterday evening are at the gates of Timbuktu," the source, who asked not to be named, told Reuters in Bamako. The French and Malians had not so far encountered any resistance from the rebels at Timbuktu. The source said the advancing troops had paused outside to prepare a strategy for entering the town, a labyrinth of ancient mosques and monuments and mud-brick homes, and for flushing out any Islamist fighters who might still be hiding inside. The United States and Europe are backing the U.N.-mandated Mali operation as a counterstrike against the threat of radical Islamist jihadists using the West African state's inhospitable Sahara desert as a launching pad for international attacks. Following relentless French air strikes against Islamist rebel positions and vehicles, the fast-moving French-led military offensive in Mali on Saturday seized Gao, the largest town in the north which had also been held by the rebels. Malian and French officials said the mayor of Gao, Sadou Diallo, who had taken refuge in Bamako during the Islamist occupation, had been reinstalled at the head of the local administration while French, Malian, Chadian and Nigerien troops secured the town and the surrounding area. As the French and Malian troops push into northern Mali, where another major Saharan town, Kidal, also remains in rebel hands, African troops from a continental intervention force expected to number 7,700 are being flown into the country, despite delays due to logistical problems. (Reporting by Tiemoko Diallo in Bamako, Richard Valdmanis in Sevare, Mali and Joe Bavier in Abidjan; Writing by Pascal Fletcher) Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (1) When the French airstrikes began, the leader of the terrorists challenged French soldiers to come on the ground and "fight like men". Alright then, the French are on the ground and the terrorists are scurrying like eunuchs. Where is Slammy? The terrorists in Mali need you to cheer them on too! Go Mali and France! Jan 26, 2013 8:13pm EST  --  Report as abuse See All Comments » Add Your Comment

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions