France Admits to Killing Hundreds in Mali (ዲምክራሲ ምዕርራባውያን ብውዋጋ ቅትልለት
ጥፍ ኣት ህዝቢ ኣፍሪቃውይያን ! )
[image: French imperialism is bombing Mali and launching a ground
invasion. The World Federation of Trade Unions have denounced the actions
of Paris. by Pan-African News Wire File
Photos]<
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53911892_at_N00/8386307520/>
French imperialism is bombing Mali and launching a ground invasion. The
World Federation of Trade Unions have denounced the actions of
Paris.<
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53911892_at_N00/8386307520/>,
a photo by Pan-African News Wire File
Photos<
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53911892_at_N00/>on Flickr.
5 February 2013
Last updated at 18:54 ET
France: Hundreds of Islamist militants killed in Mali
"Several hundred" Islamist militants have been killed since France launched
an offensive in Mali last month, the French defence minister has said.
Jean-Yves Le Drian said they had been killed in airstrikes and direct
combat with French troops.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has said that France may begin
pulling out of Mali as early as March.
In a newspaper interview, he said that "if everything goes as planned, the
number of troops should diminish".
France has an estimated 4,000 troops in Mali and officials from
multilateral institutions and dozens of countries have been meeting in
Brussels to discuss how to replace them.
The defence minister said the last major town in northern Mali to remain in
the hands of the rebels, Kidal, was now under French control.
Air attacks are continuing on suspected rebel hideouts north of the town.
'Significant number'
The militants died in French airstrikes on vehicles carrying fighters and
materials, or in ground fighting in the town of Konna at the start of the
campaign and later in the town of Gao, Mr Le Drian said.
He said French troops had inflicted "great damage on the jihadist terrorist
groups", saying "several hundred, a significant number" of Islamist
fighters had been killed.
To put that in context, at the outset of the offensive French experts
suggested that the Islamist alliance could probably muster about 3,000
fighters overall, says the BBC's Hugh Schofield in Paris.
France has suffered only one fatality so far - a helicopter pilot killed at
the beginning of the operation.
Mr Le Drian said Malian forces had also taken prisoners - "some"
high-ranking militants - whom he said would "have to answer to Malian
courts and international justice".
French forces continue to carry out airstrikes in mountains north of Kidal
where Islamists have taken refuge - and where some or all of seven French
hostages are being held, our correspondent reports.
Earlier, the French military said some 1,800 soldiers from Chad had entered
Kidal. Mr Le Drian said the town was now under the control of French forces
with "the support of African and in particular Chadian forces".
Meanwhile, pro-autonomy Tuareg rebels in Mali said they had occupied the
north-eastern town of Menaka, but their claim could not be verified.
Analysts say the rebels - who initially joined forces with the Islamist
rebels in their fight for an independent state in northern Mali, but later
fell out with them - are seeking to maximise their territorial claim on the
region ahead of talks.
Mali's future
The French intervened in Mali in January, fearing that al-Qaeda-linked
militants who had controlled Mali's vast north since April 2012 were about
to advance on the capital, Bamako.
In an interview to be published on Wednesday, Mr Fabius said French
soldiers could start leaving Mali in March.
"We will continue to act in the north where some terrorist havens remain,"
he told Metro newspaper.
"I think that starting in March, if all goes as planned, the number of
French troops could be reduced," Mr Fabius told the daily Metro.
Meanwhile, officials from the UN, EU, African Union, the World Bank and
dozens of nations met in Brussels to discuss Mali's future.
They are considering how democratic elections can be held in July, as well
as the financing of an international military force and humanitarian
assistance.
Source:
Pan-African News Wire
The world's only international daily Pan-African News source
http://panafricannews.blogspot.de/2013/02/france-admits-to-killing-hundreds-in.html
more Info
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/02/06/world/africa/mali-conflict/index.html
http://edition.cnn.com/video/?iid=article_sidebar#/video/world/2013/01/14/ctw-pkg-elbagir-mali-explainer.cnn
Received on Sat Feb 09 2013 - 20:27:41 EST
