Monday, January 14, 2013

Air Strikes - Mali Islamists Counter Attack - Promise France Long War - News

BAMAKO/PARIS (Reuters) - Al Qaeda-linked Islamist rebels presented a counter-offensive upon Monday throughout middle Mali right after four times with weather affects by French warplanes on their particular strongholds while in the desert north, guaranteeing to drag France into a much time and brutal Afghanistan-style floor war.

France increased their air raids with Sunday employing Rafale aircraft and Gazelle infiltration helicopters for you to pummel education camps at the heart of the huge area gripped by way of rebels inside April, while served many soldiers in the budget Bamako.

French airplanes ended up within steps again about Monday.

Paris is determined to end Islamist domination of northern Mali, which many dread could act as a launchpad to get attacks to the West plus a starting regarding coordination together with al Qaeda inside Yemen, Somalia and North Africa.

Launching your counter-attack much to the south west of recent fighting, Islamists clashed using federal forces on Monday inside village involving Diabaly, just three hundred km (220 miles) northeast on the investment Bamako.

Residents explained your rebels had typed in the town from your north overnight, towards from the porous border place with Mauritania exactly where al Qaeda's North African wing AQIM possesses camps.

"They possess considered Diabaly . following intense battling as well as level of resistance with the Malian army," French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told BFM television, contributing of which French and Malian aids were fighting in order to dislodge the particular rebels.

Residents said Islamists, shouting 'Allahu akbar', ended up fighting the particular army inside town.

A spokesman for any MUJWA Islamist group, one of the major factions while in the digital rebel alliance, stated French people could spend on Sunday's weather punches into their stronghold involving Gao. Dozens regarding Islamist fighters were being harmed any time rockets struck a supply depot along with a persuits house being exercised seeing that his or her headquarters.

"They ought to attack on the yard as long as they are men. We'll welcome these with wide open arms," Oumar Ould Hamaha advised Europe 1 radio. "France has exposed that gates involving heck for all the French. She features gone down towards some sort of treadmill that is far more unsafe as compared with Iraq, Afghanistan or Somalia."

France has said it's sharp intervention with Friday, right after Mali's leader appealed to get vital aid in the face of an rebel advance, stopped that Islamists from seizing the main city Bamako. It possesses pledged to touch on together with air techinques within the on its way days.

President Francois Hollande affirms France's intent will be basically compliment a new mission simply by the actual 15-nation West African bloc ECOWAS to be able to retake your north, when mandated by way of a U.N. Security Council solution inside December.

Under demand from Paris, many regional states have said many people expectation to acquire soldiers around the ground this week. Military chiefs through ECOWAS locations will certainly meet up with in Bamako with Tuesday but local powerhouse Nigeria, which is on account of lead your mission, has cautioned in which training and deploying troops will require time.

DOUBTS OVER ECOWAS DEPLOYMENT

More than a pair of a long time of tranquil elections acquired attained Mali a history to be a bulwark involving democracy, but in which graphic unravelled inside a topic of several weeks after a armed service coup with March which left a electric power void for any Islamist rebellion.

France, containing regularly claimed they have abandoned its role because policeman of it's an old African colonies, convened a U.N. Security Council conference for Monday in order to focus on Mali.

Hollande's intervention features won plaudits coming from Western leaders but raises this hazard level regarding eight French hostages stored by means of al Qaeda allies inside Sahara and then for the actual 30,000 French expatriates being in neighbouring, mainly Muslim states.

Concerned with regards to reprisals at home, France includes tightened security with public homes as well as about criminal court transport.

In it is first casualty from the campaign, Paris explained a new French pilot appeared to be mortally wounded on Friday when rebels shot from his or her helicopter.

Hours earlier, your French cleverness policeman presented hostage with Somalia by means of al Shabaab militants connected to al Qaeda ended up being killed in the unsuccessful commando raid to be able to free of charge him.

Military analysts warn in which if French motion hasn't been adopted up simply by a powerful deployment of ECOWAS forces, by using logistical and economic help support from NATO, in that case the complete U.N.-mandated Mali mission has been unlikely to be able to succeed.

"The French measures ended up being an ad-hoc measure. It's planning to possibly be a mess with regard to a new while, it depends with the way quickly every person can come upon board," said Hussein Solomon, a teacher inside Department with Political Studies along with Governance on the University belonging to the Free State, South Africa.

He voiced burial plot questions regarding the prospects of any correctly set up in addition to prepared ECOWAS pressure deploying correctly in a very terrain operation that will follow up French atmosphere strikes.

"This is actually just actively playing intended for moment . It's very important of which some other NATO locations find involved," this individual said. "Everybody talks within the hazard connected with worldwide terrorism, nonetheless then in which will be the world-wide response?"

Officials within Washington offers claimed the particular United States would reveal intelligence by using France in addition to ended up being considering sending your compact number of unarmed monitoring drones. Britain and Canada have also promised logistical support.

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