Free Republic

Sevare, Mali (CNN) -- The Malian military has gained control of the central town of Diabaly, Mali, a key advance in the battle against Islamist militants in the north. The country's forces retook the town without ground assistance from French troops, a military spokesman said. The French military confirmed that it provided only air support. French officials later said Malian forces had managed to push the Islamists into the forest beyond Diabaly. But battles in the region continued to rage. Rebel control over Diabaly was one of the chief concerns to Mali and France in trying to stop the Islamists'...

French troops have been fighting Mali's Islamist rebels in street battles in the town of Diabaly, Malian and French sources say. In the first major ground operation in the conflict, French special forces were fighting alongside Malian troops. Diabaly, 350km (220 miles) north of the capital Bamako, was captured by the rebels on Monday. France intervened in Mali last Friday to try to halt the Islamists' push southwards towards the capital. In a separate development, the chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court opened a war crimes investigation, focusing on acts committed since January 2012 in some northern regions of...