US begins transporting French troops to Mali

         
American planes transported French troops and equipment to Mali, a U.S. military spokesman said Tuesday, as Malian and French forces pushed into the Islamist-held north.

Douentza had been held by Islamist rebels for four months, located 190 kilometers (120 miles) northeast from Mopti, the previous line-of-control held by the Malian military in Mali's narrow central belt. The Islamist fighters have controlled the vast desert stretches of northern Mali, with the weak government clinging to the south, since a military coup in the capital in March unleashed chaos.          

In recent days, French fighter jets and helicopter gunships have conducted about a dozen sorties per day. France has about 3,150 troops now involved in the operation code-named Operation Serval in Mali, all but 1,000 of whom are currently deployed in the former French colony.     

France said Monday there are now about 1,000 African troops in Mali to take part in the military intervention from Nigeria, Togo, Benin, Niger and Chad.          

Neighboring African countries are ultimately expected to contribute around 3,000 troops but concerns about the mission have delayed some from sending their promised troops.

In this context, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan said that troops from the West African country will stay in northern Mali until the crisis there is resolved and a democratically elected government is in place.   

Nigeria plans to deploy around 1,200 troops as part of a West African intervention force to support French troops battling al Qaeda-linked militants with the aim of driving them out of the northern half of Mali, which they seized from government forces last year.

Meanwhile, France announced that a donor conference for Mali next week will seek about 340 million euros ($452 million) for the training and deployment of Malian and African troops.


REUTERS/AP