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| François Hollande visits Timbuktu as Mali intervention declared successful | François Hollande visits Timbuktu as Mali intervention declared successful |
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| François Hollande has arrived in Timbuktu to meet local elders days after French forces liberated the Saharan city from fundamentalist Muslim rebels. | |
| The French president, accompanied by his ministers for defence and foreign affairs, landed in Sevare in central Mali before travelling north. | The French president, accompanied by his ministers for defence and foreign affairs, landed in Sevare in central Mali before travelling north. |
| Until just over a week ago, fighters from al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb controlled Timbuktu, torching its showpiece library of ancient manuscripts in a vengeful departing act. They retreated from the town without firing a shot. | Until just over a week ago, fighters from al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb controlled Timbuktu, torching its showpiece library of ancient manuscripts in a vengeful departing act. They retreated from the town without firing a shot. |
| Malians have overwhelmingly welcomed France's military operation, which has involved 3,700 ground troops. Their own unelected leaders failed to stop a rebel advance last year, which meant the towns of Gao, Timbuktu and Kidal fell under Islamist rule. French, Malian and other African forces have retaken all three. | Malians have overwhelmingly welcomed France's military operation, which has involved 3,700 ground troops. Their own unelected leaders failed to stop a rebel advance last year, which meant the towns of Gao, Timbuktu and Kidal fell under Islamist rule. French, Malian and other African forces have retaken all three. |
| But with the major phase of the French campaign over, there is uncertainty about what comes next: a lasting peace or, as seems more probable, a simmering guerrilla war. There are also questions about the human rights record of Mali's army. In separate reports, Amnesty and Human Rights Watch accused the military on Friday of carrying out extrajudicial killings. | But with the major phase of the French campaign over, there is uncertainty about what comes next: a lasting peace or, as seems more probable, a simmering guerrilla war. There are also questions about the human rights record of Mali's army. In separate reports, Amnesty and Human Rights Watch accused the military on Friday of carrying out extrajudicial killings. |
| Hollande's visit comes after the UN's adviser on the prevention of genocide, Adama Dieng, warned of the increasing risk of reprisal attacks against ethnic Tuareg and Arab civilian populations in the Timbuktu, Kidal and Gao regions. | Hollande's visit comes after the UN's adviser on the prevention of genocide, Adama Dieng, warned of the increasing risk of reprisal attacks against ethnic Tuareg and Arab civilian populations in the Timbuktu, Kidal and Gao regions. |
| "While the liberation of towns once under the control of the rebel and extremist groups has brought hope to the populations of northern Mali, I am deeply concerned at the risk of reprisal attacks against ethnic Tuareg and Arab civilians," he said. | "While the liberation of towns once under the control of the rebel and extremist groups has brought hope to the populations of northern Mali, I am deeply concerned at the risk of reprisal attacks against ethnic Tuareg and Arab civilians," he said. |
| "There have been serious allegations of human rights violations committed by the Malian army, including summary executions and disappearances, in Sevare, Mopti, Niono and other towns close to the areas where fighting has occurred. There have also been reports of incidents of mob lynching and looting of properties belonging to Arab and Tuareg communities. These communities are reportedly being accused of supporting armed groups, based simply on their ethnic affiliation." | |
| Some Malians, meanwhile, are unhappy about negotiations in Kidal between French forces and the MNLA, a secular Tuareg nationalist militia that has been fighting in the south for decades. The MNLA wants an independent republic – something Dioncounda Traoré, Mali's interim president, has categorically ruled out. | Some Malians, meanwhile, are unhappy about negotiations in Kidal between French forces and the MNLA, a secular Tuareg nationalist militia that has been fighting in the south for decades. The MNLA wants an independent republic – something Dioncounda Traoré, Mali's interim president, has categorically ruled out. |
| France's defence minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, has declared the intervention a success, while recognising that Mali's situation is not secure. He also said Malians should now establish a reconciliation process, but this call has left some unhappy. "I welcome the French, but I'm extremely angry they are talking to the MNLA," Ibrahim al-Senussi, a corporal in Mali's army, said. "The MNLA are liars and traitors." | France's defence minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, has declared the intervention a success, while recognising that Mali's situation is not secure. He also said Malians should now establish a reconciliation process, but this call has left some unhappy. "I welcome the French, but I'm extremely angry they are talking to the MNLA," Ibrahim al-Senussi, a corporal in Mali's army, said. "The MNLA are liars and traitors." |
| The fate of several French hostages held by Islamist groups is likely to feature in any private dialogue between Paris and northern Malian leaders. Eleven westerners are being held by jihadist forces, it is believed, including three tourists who were kidnapped from their Timbuktu hotel in 2011. A German who resisted was shot dead. | |
| There has been no information on the hostages, but the remote mountains north of Kidal have previously been a haven for radical Islamist guerrillas. French fighter jets bombed the area on Thursday. | There has been no information on the hostages, but the remote mountains north of Kidal have previously been a haven for radical Islamist guerrillas. French fighter jets bombed the area on Thursday. |
| Most of the French public back the intervention in Mali, even if it is not their top concern. A poll this week suggested Hollande's swift decision to deploy troops had boosted his presidential stature and approval ratings slightly. But pollsters said despite a small bounce in his ratings, Hollande's status remained "fragile". The president is unpopular because of high unemployment and the economic crisis. | Most of the French public back the intervention in Mali, even if it is not their top concern. A poll this week suggested Hollande's swift decision to deploy troops had boosted his presidential stature and approval ratings slightly. But pollsters said despite a small bounce in his ratings, Hollande's status remained "fragile". The president is unpopular because of high unemployment and the economic crisis. |
| This week he said French and African forces in Mali were "winning the battle", but the joint African force taking over must continue the pursuit of Islamists in the north. | |
| France is due to gradually hand over to a UN-backed African force of some 8,000 soldiers. Its job will be to secure northern towns and pursue militants into their mountain redoubts near Algeria's border, but timings remain unclear. |