Free Republic

A week after French aircraft rushed to the aid of a defeated and demoralised Malian army, French ground forces have begun fighting alongside the Malian army in Diabaly, a town 350 km north of capital Bamako. Since last year, northern Mali has been overrun by Islamist rebels organised under the banners of the Ansar Dine, the Movement for Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO) and al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). Last Friday, France sent in jets, helicopter gunships, and special forces to Central Mali as Islamist rebels advanced till 50 km from a major military base in Sevare, and captured...

<p>The battle to retake Mali's north from the al-Qaida-linked groups controlling it began in earnest Saturday, after hundreds of French forces deployed to the country and began aerial bombardments to drive back the Islamic extremists from a town seized earlier this week.</p>

Government forces in Mali say they have regained territory from Islamist militants following air strikes by the French military. Malian officials said they had taken back the strategic central town of Konna, which rebels had secured just a day earlier as they pushed south. The news came hours after France announced it had begun military operations in support of Mali's army. Armed groups, some linked to al-Qaeda, took control of northern Mali in April.

Militants Islamist in Mali say they have entered the key central town of Konna, advancing further into government-held territory. This is the most serious fighting since Islamist groups captured the north from government forces in April 2012. The army has not commented on the claim by the Ansar Dine group that its fighters are in Konna. Earlier, it said it had advanced on Douentza, a central town held by another Islamist group. A resident in Douentza said no fighting had so far taken place for control of the town, about 800km (500 miles) north-east of the capital, Bamako. It was...