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French troops in fierce clash with Islamist militants in Mali

World News

29-10-2014 | 12:53

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French troops in fierce clash with Islamist militants in Mali

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French forces engaged in a fierce clash with Islamist militants in a mountainous region of northern Mali on Wednesday, France's Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said.

"A violent clash between the Barkhane (French) forces and a large number of armed terrorists took place in the Tigharghar valley," Le Drian said during a parliamentary hearing.

He said the fighters were possibly linked to al Qaeda's north African wing, AQIM, and the clashes had just finished.

A French army spokesman could not immediately give more details on the clashes.

France dispatched thousands of troops to its former colony early last year to retake control of northern towns that had been overrun by separatists and rebels linked to al Qaeda in 2012 following a coup in the capital Bamako.

It has since turned that operation into the 3,000-strong Barkhane counter-terrorism mission spanning from Mauritania to southern Libya.

Le Drian on Monday criticized the slow deployment of U.N. peacekeepers in Mali's volatile northern region and said he would send more troops to the area while the United Nations builds up its presence there.

REUTERS

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