First African Troops Move into Central Mali

                            

PARIS, Kompas.com - The first contingent of African troops stationed in Mali have begun to move into the central region of the country, where the French troops trying to help the Malian military repulse militant extremists. Similarly, the French Foreign Minister, Laurent Fabius, Wednesday (23/01/2013).

"A number of forces (Africa) have started moving towards the central cities," said Fabius told a committee of the French parliament.

According to Fabius, 1,000 soldiers from the countries of West Africa and Chad were in Bamako, the capital of Mali and neighboring Niger. He did not specify how many troops are moving to the forefront of the conflict.

Fabius said troops from Chad will be very important. "They are proven quality and knowing the terrain," he said.

"African forces deployed more quickly than expected. Obviously there are logistical difficulties, but I have to say that I saw a great effort by our African friends. "

French military cooperation with Mali, on January 11 when militants launched operations advanced to threaten the capital of Mali, Bamako. This was done after months of doubts about African intervention troops to help oust militants from the northern region.

Mali, who had become one of the stable democracies in Africa, experiencing uncertainty following a military coup in March 2012 to overthrow the government of President Amadou Toumani Toure.

The international community is worried the country would become a hotbed of new terrorists and their support African efforts to intervene militarily.

The UN has authorized the deployment of troops African intervention force of about 3,300 soldiers under the auspices of the West African ECOWAS countries. With the involvement of Chad, which has promised 2,000 troops, the number of troops that the intervention will be far greater.

The militants, who say the experts acting under the umbrella of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), while This master's northern Mali, covering an area larger than France.

hardline militant Ansar Dine (Defender of the Faith) is one of a number of groups linked to Al Qaeda, which runs north Mali amid the power vacuum caused by the military coup on March 22 in the southern region.

Ansar Dine seized Timbuktu, while the Movement Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO) ruled Gao, another major city in northern Mali.