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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| France upbeat on Mali military campaign | France upbeat on Mali military campaign |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| France says its military intervention in Mali is "developing favourably" and within expectations. | France says its military intervention in Mali is "developing favourably" and within expectations. |
| Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Islamists had retreated in the east but that French forces were facing a "difficult" situation against well-armed rebels in western areas. | Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Islamists had retreated in the east but that French forces were facing a "difficult" situation against well-armed rebels in western areas. |
| Rebels attacked Diabaly, 400km (250 miles) from the capital, Bamako, on Monday, Malian security sources said. | Rebels attacked Diabaly, 400km (250 miles) from the capital, Bamako, on Monday, Malian security sources said. |
| France has called a meeting of the UN Security Council for Monday. | France has called a meeting of the UN Security Council for Monday. |
| France began its military intervention last Friday in an attempt to halt the advance of Islamist rebels towards Bamako from bases in the north and east. | France began its military intervention last Friday in an attempt to halt the advance of Islamist rebels towards Bamako from bases in the north and east. |
| Separately, Mr Drian said he feared militants in Somalia were planning to stage a "macabre" display of the bodies of two French soldiers killed during a failed attempt to rescue a French hostage. | |
| Friday's raid came hours after the French intervention in Mali. | |
| 'Matter of weeks' | |
| France intensified its air strikes on rebel targets over the weekend, with warplanes bombing the town of Gao in eastern Mali. | |
| Mr Drian said: "The developments are in line with our expectations. In the east of Mali the advance of the rebels has been blocked. The town of Konna has been abandoned. The terrorist groups are in effect in retreat." | |
| He said the strikes on Gao had caused rebels to flee east. | |
| But Mr Drian added: "There is a difficult situation in the west, where we have encountered heavily armed militants. Operations against them are going on as we speak, alongside the Malian army." | |
| On Monday, rebels reportedly counter-attacked in Diabaly. | |
| One resident told Reuters news agency: "The Islamists are fighting with the army inside the town. [The militants] started to infiltrate the town last night by crossing the river in little groups." | |
| A Malian military source told AFP that rebels had come from the Mauritanian border area after being attacked by French planes. | |
| Rebels of the al-Qaeda-linked Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (Mujao), said that France would pay for its intervention. | |
| Spokesman Abou Dardar told AFP: "France has attacked Islam. We will strike at the heart of France." | |
| Another spokesman, Oumar Ould Hamaha, told Europe 1 radio: "France has opened the gates of hell for all the French. She has fallen into a trap which is much more dangerous than Iraq, Afghanistan or Somalia." | |
| At least 11 Malian soldiers and a French helicopter pilot have died since Friday. More than 100 militants are reported to have been killed. | |
| French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said France's involvement would last "a matter of weeks" and rejected any parallel with the protracted Western mission in Afghanistan. | |
| "Later on, we can come as back-up, but we have no intention of staying forever," he said. |