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| Security Council President Masood Khan briefs media on Mali. [ PHOTO: UN/JC McJJwaine] |
Bamako, Mali: France has carried out airstrikes in Mali to support
government forces trying to stem advances by Islamist militants.
France's foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, confirmed the air
raids Friday, but declined to give more details about the military operation.
France announced earlier Friday that it had deployed troops
to Mali at the request of the government. Troops from Nigeria and Senegal also
are in Mali to help government forces.
Malian military officials say the attack has stopped the
offensive by Islamist rebels. The rebels, who control all of the north of the
country, had pushed south this week, taking the town of Konna. Malian military
officials say government troops have now taken back the town.
Mali's interim president, Dioncounda Traore, declared a
national state of emergency Friday and called on every Malian to help in the
war effort.
"Every Malian, man and woman, should from here on out
consider oneself to be a soldier of the nation and behave as such. We call on
all mining, telephone and other companies, as well as all people morally and
physically able, to contribute to this fight against terrorism," said
Traore.
"All public services should put all vehicles that could be useful
in the field at the service of the army without delay, " he added.
French President Francois Hollande said the French forces
are helping to fight what he called "terrorist elements" in Mali.
"This operation will last as long as necessary. I will
keep the French regularly informed about its proceedings," said Hollande.
"The terrorists must know that France will always be here, when it comes
to not only its fundamental interests, but also the rights of a population, that
of Mali, which wants to live freely and in a democracy," he emphasised.
Mali's president had asked France, the country's former
colonial ruler, for immediate help in stopping the rebel advance. Diplomatic
sources say Traore will meet with Hollande in Paris next Wednesday.
France's Foreign Ministry has advised French citizens in
Mali to leave the country "temporarily," while the U.S. embassy in
Bamako is urging Americans against all travel to the West African country.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the United
States is consulting very closely with France's government.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Friday that
Britain supports the French decision to intervene militarily.
Last month, the United Nations Security Council approved a
plan for West African states to deploy at least 3,000 troops to Mali to help
train the army and retake the north. But until this week, no troops had been
expected in Mali until September.
The Islamists' takeover of Konna on Thursday placed the
militant force within 25 kilometers from Mopti, the northernmost city under Malian
government control. The militant groups are still several hundred kilometers
from Bamako.
On Thursday, the government ordered all schools closed in
the capital and in the nearby garrison town of Kati, citing the threat of civil
unrest.
The order, which covers kindergarten through university,
came as state television broadcast a statement saying in part that the country
faces "one of the direst periods in its history." It urged all
citizens "to unite behind the army in the fight to take back the north."
Al-Qaida-linked groups took control of Mali's north soon
after renegade soldiers overthrew the country's elected president last March.
The groups have imposed a harsh form of Islamic law on the areas in their
control, drawing condemnation from human rights groups.
- VOA