This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/17/world/africa/france-mali-intervention.html
The article has changed 15 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 4 | Version 5 |
|---|---|
| French Troops Move North as Mali Rebels Dig In | French Troops Move North as Mali Rebels Dig In |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| BAMAKO, Mali — After fierce bombardment by the French military, Islamist insurgents in Mali have hunkered down to fight again, facing a column of French ground forces moving north from here on Wednesday in a phalanx of armored vehicles and preparing for battle “within hours.” | |
| Some unconfirmed reports in the French news media said close-quarters combat was under way in a village that had been overrun by the Islamists, but Defense Ministry officials declined to comment. Other reports spoke of fighting by French special forces and Malian government troops confronting insurgents who were reported to have regrouped after French airstrikes on Monday. | |
| If corroborated, the reported clashes would be the first direct combat involving French ground forces since President François Hollande ordered warplanes into action in Mali last Friday to thwart a push to the south by Islamist rebels controlling the north of the country. | If corroborated, the reported clashes would be the first direct combat involving French ground forces since President François Hollande ordered warplanes into action in Mali last Friday to thwart a push to the south by Islamist rebels controlling the north of the country. |
| News reports on Wednesday said Islamists from northern Mali had moved into southern Algeria to seize hostages at a gas field, kidnapping several people including Japanese nationals and other foreigners in a possible response to the French intervention. | News reports on Wednesday said Islamists from northern Mali had moved into southern Algeria to seize hostages at a gas field, kidnapping several people including Japanese nationals and other foreigners in a possible response to the French intervention. |
| BP, which operates the field in partnership with a Norwegian company, and the British Foreign Office both confirmed that an incident was unfolding at the field, but declined to give details. | BP, which operates the field in partnership with a Norwegian company, and the British Foreign Office both confirmed that an incident was unfolding at the field, but declined to give details. |
| The developments came soon after Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian of France forecast a protracted campaign to turn back a southward thrust by the rebels from their redoubts in the northern desert. | |
| “We’re in a better position than last week, but the combat continues and it will be long, I imagine,” he said Wednesday on RTL radio. “Today the ground forces are in the process of deploying,” he said. “Now the French forces are reaching the north.” | “We’re in a better position than last week, but the combat continues and it will be long, I imagine,” he said Wednesday on RTL radio. “Today the ground forces are in the process of deploying,” he said. “Now the French forces are reaching the north.” |
| Adm. Edouard Guillaud, the French chief of staff, told Europe 1 television that ground operations began overnight. “Now we’re on the ground,” Admiral Guillaud said. “We will be in direct combat within hours.” | Adm. Edouard Guillaud, the French chief of staff, told Europe 1 television that ground operations began overnight. “Now we’re on the ground,” Admiral Guillaud said. “We will be in direct combat within hours.” |
| Soon after he spoke, French news outlets reported contact between French and Islamist forces in the village of Diabaly, north of Ségou on the approaches to Bamako, the capital. | Soon after he spoke, French news outlets reported contact between French and Islamist forces in the village of Diabaly, north of Ségou on the approaches to Bamako, the capital. |
| “I cannot say whether it will be one hour or 72 hours,” Admiral Guillaud said. He said French troops were familiar with “conflict of a guerrilla nature to which we are accustomed in this kind of region.” | “I cannot say whether it will be one hour or 72 hours,” Admiral Guillaud said. He said French troops were familiar with “conflict of a guerrilla nature to which we are accustomed in this kind of region.” |
| He accused jihadists of using civilians as human shields and said, “We refuse to put the population at risk. If there is doubt, we will not fire.” | He accused jihadists of using civilians as human shields and said, “We refuse to put the population at risk. If there is doubt, we will not fire.” |
| In Paris, Mr. Hollande said Wednesday that he took the decision to intervene last Friday because it was necessary. If he had not done so, it would have been too late. “Mali would have been entirely conquered and the terrorists would today be in a position of strength." | |
| On Tuesday, witnesses in Mali reported, the insurgents had regrouped after French airstrikes and embedded themselves among the population of Diabaly, hiding in the mud and brick houses in the battle zone and thwarting attacks by French warplanes to dislodge them. | |
| “They are in the town, almost everywhere in the town,” said Bekaye Diarra, who owns a pharmacy in Diabaly, which remained under the control of insurgents. “They are installing themselves.” | |
| Benco Ba, a parliamentary deputy there, said residents were fearful of the conflict that had descended on them. “The jihadists are going right into people’s families,” he said. “They have completely occupied the town. They are dispersed. It’s fear, ” he said, as it became clear that airstrikes alone will probably not be enough to root out these battle-hardened insurgents, who know well the harsh grassland and desert terrain of Mali. | |
| Containing the rebels’ southern advance toward Bamako is proving more challenging than anticipated, French military officials have acknowledged. And with the Malian Army in disarray and no outside African force yet assembled, displacing the rebels from the country altogether appears to be an elusive, long-term challenge. | |
| The jihadists are “dug in” at Diabaly, Defense Minister Le Drian said Tuesday at a news conference. From that strategic town, they “threaten the south,” he said, adding: “We face a well-armed and determined adversary.” | The jihadists are “dug in” at Diabaly, Defense Minister Le Drian said Tuesday at a news conference. From that strategic town, they “threaten the south,” he said, adding: “We face a well-armed and determined adversary.” |
| Mr. Le Drian also acknowledged that the Malian Army had not managed to retake the town of Konna, whose seizure by the rebels a week ago provoked the French intervention. “We will continue the strikes to diminish their potential,” the minister said. | Mr. Le Drian also acknowledged that the Malian Army had not managed to retake the town of Konna, whose seizure by the rebels a week ago provoked the French intervention. “We will continue the strikes to diminish their potential,” the minister said. |
| Using advanced attack planes and sophisticated military helicopters, the French campaign has forced the Islamists from important northern towns like Gao and Douentza. But residents there say that while the insurgents suffered losses, many of them had simply gone into the nearby bush. | Using advanced attack planes and sophisticated military helicopters, the French campaign has forced the Islamists from important northern towns like Gao and Douentza. But residents there say that while the insurgents suffered losses, many of them had simply gone into the nearby bush. |
| Analysts said that while forcing the insurgents from the cities was achievable, eliminating them altogether would require considerable additional effort. | Analysts said that while forcing the insurgents from the cities was achievable, eliminating them altogether would require considerable additional effort. |
| “You can’t launch a war of extermination against a very tenacious and mobile adversary,” said Col. Michel Goya of the French Military Academy’s Strategic Research Institute. “We are in a classic counterinsurrectionary situation. They are well armed, but the weapons are not sophisticated. A couple of thousand men, very mobile.” | “You can’t launch a war of extermination against a very tenacious and mobile adversary,” said Col. Michel Goya of the French Military Academy’s Strategic Research Institute. “We are in a classic counterinsurrectionary situation. They are well armed, but the weapons are not sophisticated. A couple of thousand men, very mobile.” |
| While striking the Islamists from the air, France has been steadily building up its forces on the ground: 200 more soldiers and 60 armored vehicles arrived in Mali overnight on Tuesday from Ivory Coast, bringing the total to nearly 800 soldiers. The French Defense Ministry said the force would soon number 2,500, in the vicinity of its peak Afghanistan deployment. | While striking the Islamists from the air, France has been steadily building up its forces on the ground: 200 more soldiers and 60 armored vehicles arrived in Mali overnight on Tuesday from Ivory Coast, bringing the total to nearly 800 soldiers. The French Defense Ministry said the force would soon number 2,500, in the vicinity of its peak Afghanistan deployment. |
| France is the former colonial power in Mali, and Mr. Le Drian has said it intervened to prevent the possible collapse of Mali’s government and “the establishment of a terrorist state within range of Europe and of France.” The French mission is aimed at supporting an African force that is still being assembled and that French officials said could begin to deploy in as soon as a week. The United States has also committed its support to the French mission. | |
| Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta, traveling in Spain, said that France faced a difficult task in taking on the extremists and that the Pentagon remained in talks with the French about what sort of aid was required. | Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta, traveling in Spain, said that France faced a difficult task in taking on the extremists and that the Pentagon remained in talks with the French about what sort of aid was required. |
| The implications of the nascent French deployment — and of the Islamist takeover of Diabaly, only about 220 miles from the capital here — seem clear: rooting out the few thousand insurgents could well be a slog. | The implications of the nascent French deployment — and of the Islamist takeover of Diabaly, only about 220 miles from the capital here — seem clear: rooting out the few thousand insurgents could well be a slog. |
| The Islamists are well armed, with AK-47s, rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine guns mounted on vehicles, as well as some armored personnel carriers seized from the Malian military last year. | The Islamists are well armed, with AK-47s, rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine guns mounted on vehicles, as well as some armored personnel carriers seized from the Malian military last year. |
| In the initial clashes, allied officials said, French airstrikes inflicted heavy losses on Islamist columns that could be easily identified and attacked as they advanced on roads. That led to some optimistic assessments of a rout. | In the initial clashes, allied officials said, French airstrikes inflicted heavy losses on Islamist columns that could be easily identified and attacked as they advanced on roads. That led to some optimistic assessments of a rout. |
| But a military spokesman for the French operation in Mali said Tuesday that the Islamists had taken more territory since the French air raid began because the fighters were mixing in with the population and making it difficult to bomb without causing civilian casualties. | But a military spokesman for the French operation in Mali said Tuesday that the Islamists had taken more territory since the French air raid began because the fighters were mixing in with the population and making it difficult to bomb without causing civilian casualties. |
| “It’s really much too soon to tell how this fight will turn out,” said an American official who has been surveying the battle from afar. | “It’s really much too soon to tell how this fight will turn out,” said an American official who has been surveying the battle from afar. |
Adam Nossiter reported from Bamako, Mali, Alan Cowell from Paris and Eric Schmitt from Washington. Steven Erlanger and Scott Sayare | Adam Nossiter reported from Bamako, Mali, Alan Cowell from Paris and Eric Schmitt from Washington. Reporting was contributed by Steven Erlanger and Scott Sayare from Paris, Julia Werdigier from London, and Elisabeth Bumiller from Madrid. |