Ivory Coast meeting aims to fast-track deployment of African troops to aid French-backed offensive against Mali rebels.
Al-Jazeera
19 Jan 2013
West African and French leaders are gathering for an emergency summit in
Ivory Coast to fast-track the deployment of African troops to boost a
French-backed offensive in Mali against rebel fighters.
Saturday's meeting in the port city of Abidjan comes after Malian
soldiers, backed by French troops and air power, retook a key central
town from rebels who had advanced from their northern stronghold,
threatening the capital Bamako.
Meanwhile, rebel group Ansar Dine
revealed that a French airstrike hit one of their vehicles killing two
of their fighters as they were attempting to leave the town of Diabaly,
Al Jazeera's correspondent Nazanine Moshiri, in Bamako, said.
"There
are reports the rebels are leaving their pick ups and other vehicles
and moving on foot with the civilians in an attempt to avoid French
airstrikes," our correspondent said
France, which began the military operation codenamed "Serval" after
Konna fell to rebel fighters on January 11, will be represented at the
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) meeting by Foreign
Minister Laurent Fabius.
"I will go there with a military attache and we will see with our
African friends how we can speed up the deployment of MISMA," or the
International Mission for Mali Assistance, Fabius told the AFP news
agency.
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