Nigerian troops to join French forces fighting Islamists in Mali

Herald Globe Thursday 17th January, 2013

? A Nigerian Air force contingent made up 69 paratroopers and seven officers departed for crisis-ridden Mali

? Nigeria has pledged 900 soldiers for intervention in Mali.

? Chad has confirmed it will send 2,000 troops.

BAMAKO - Nigerian troops and war planes are set to join French forces fighting to dislodge Islamist insurgents in Mali's north even as fierce fighting raged in several towns of the west African nation.

A Nigerian Air force contingent made up 69 paratroopers and seven officers departed for crisis-ridden Mali through the Port Harcourt International Airport Thursday.

Nigeria has pledged 900 soldiers for intervention in Mali.

It is the first West African contingent to join France's anti-rebel operation launched in Mali on Friday.

In total, 3,300 regional troops will be deployed in the conflict under a UN Security Council resolution. Chad has confirmed it will send 2,000 troops.

French and Malian forces started the first major ground operation against the militants.

Street battles broke out between soldiers and rebels in the town of Diabaly, 350km (220 miles) north of the capital Bamako on Wednesday.

Islamists took the town from Malian forces. French fighter jets have since attacked the rebel position.

The battle for control of northern Mali appears to be drawing nearer to the capital, Bamako.

Banamba, a town only 90 miles (145km) from Bamako, has been put on alert after jihadists were reportedly seen in the area. A hundred Malian soldiers are reported to have been deployed to the town, with reinforcements set to arrive.

There were reports that the threat to the town is connected to the attack on Diabaly which was taken by rebels earlier this week. Soldiers and at least one civilian were injured in the attack. Phone lines within the town were cut, making communication almost impossible.

An official said he had received reports of a rebel convoy having left Diabaly on the road connecting it to Banamba.

"We don't have a [military] base here, we have no defences. So the military has come to secure the town," he said, according to AP. "From Monday to today, no jihadists have entered our town. But there are reports that a column [of rebel vehicles] was seen heading toward us from Diabaly."

There were reports that three armed men were arrested in Bamako on Wednesday after being seen by residents travelling in a taxi with guns.

An official from the Malian National Commission of Human Rights (CNDH) said the men were detained at a market and taken by Mali's state security service, to an unknown location.

The arrests coincide with claims that Islamist sleeper cells are active in Bamako and could plot attacks in retaliation for the international military intervention.

French president Francois Hollande has said the on-going hostage crisis in Algeria is evidence that France's military intervention in Mali is justified.

Speaking to business leaders in Paris on Thursday, Hollande said "What's happening in Algeria provides further evidence that my decision to intervene in Mali was justified."

Hollande's statement came after the number of French troops in the West African nation increased to 1,400. France plans to deploy 2,500 forces in its former colony, said French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, .

The first French forces were deployed on January 11 after armed groups seized the town of Konna. On Wednesday, French troops began direct ground combat against fighters belonging to al-Qaeda-linked groups, including Ansar al-Dine.

Western nations have offered to help France logistically, but have stopped short of pledging to send combat troops.

During a meeting of European foreign ministers in Brussels on Thursday, the EU approved sending 450 to 500 non-combat troops, half of them trainers, to Mali as quickly as possible.

"The Dutch government supports the French action in Mali," said Frans Timmermans, Dutch Minister for Foreign Affairs, at the meeting.

The US said it takes the fight with al Qaeda-affiliated fighters in Mali "very seriously," but has as yet not agreed to provide assistance to the French-led mission.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the US is considering how best to offer its support for the foreign intervention, adding that, "I'm confident that we're going to be able to provide that assistance."

The UK has provided transport planes, while Germany on Wednesday gave two transport planes as logistical support.

Source: http://www.heraldglobe.com/index.php/sid/212006417/scat/b8de8e630faf3631

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