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Mali Conflict: French troops to stay in Mali till April before withdrawing / Africa News

The French President Francois Hollande has disclosed that his country will begin withdrawing its troops from Mali next month in the combat operation.

He said the combat operation is in its final phase and would continue throughout March and be scaled down in April when they will officially ending their military intervention mission.

France proposed to the United Nations to take over the rest of the combat operation in Mali as it’s intends to withdraw its force from the country last month.

There has not been any response however from the United Nations as to whether it will yield to the request tabled by France to take over the mission in Mali.

President Hollande also added that the campaign in the north of the country had killed a lot of terrorist leaders but failed to give specific names.

“The terrorist kingpins have been destroyed, and we are hopefully that it will be a successful mission in the end’’; President Hollande pointed out in the Polish capital Warsaw.

Rumors emerged last week that the leaders of the Islamist Fighters have been killed according to the Chadians soldiers but there were no authentic prove to back the claim.

A French soldier and 10 rebels were also killed during the clashes, 60 miles (100km) east of the town of Gao, the French defence Ministry also added.

In total, there have been four French deaths since military operations began on 11 January this year to curb the militants’ insurgency in the north of the country.

Chad had said its soldiers, fighting alongside the French troops, killed two top militant commanders, Abdelhamid Abou Zeid from al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, and veteran Islamist leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar.

But there were not authentic prove to indicate that these leaders have been indeed eliminated by the joint troops in the north of the country.

On Wednesday, Mr. Hollande said that the final phase of the French intervention will last through March and from April there will be a decrease in the number of French soldiers in Mali as African forces will take over, supported by the Europeans.

Islamist fighters took control of northern Mali a year ago after a military coup in the capital Bamako, in the south.

France intervened militarily in January amid fears the rebels were preparing to advance on Bamako to eventually take over the country.

Issaka Adams / NationalTurk Africa News

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