Islamist rebel fighters in northern Mali have pledged to strike “at the heart” of France, after a joint Malian-French offensive -- which has entered its fourth day -- began pushing back al Qaeda linked rebels controlling the region.
Malian and French soldiers, backed by heavy French military air support, pushed back rebel fighters from the central town of Konna over the weekend.
A dozen French fighter planes, including four Rafale jets, hit rebel targets in the cities of Goa and Kidal, deeper in the country’s rebel-held north. Residents of Goa said French air raids had struck bases and destroyed weapons depots.
Nevertheless, Malian soldiers continued to struggle against well-equipped rebels, who on Monday wrestled away control of the central town of Diabaly, according to French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. “We knew that the key spots would be towards the west… where the most important fighting is going on today,” Le Drian told French BFM television.
Also on Monday, Islamists vowed to strike back at France.
"France has attacked Islam. We will strike at the heart of France," Abou Dardar, a leader of Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), one of the Mali-based groups with ties to al Qaeda, told the AFP news agency.
Asked where attacks would take place, Dardar said: "Everywhere. In Bamako, in Africa and in Europe."
Malian troops on the ground and around 550 French soldiers deployed so far are awaiting the arrival of a 3,300-stong multi-nation African force. French President François Hollande said French involvement would last “as long as is necessary.”
According to France 24’s Mathieu Mabin, who was in the city of Sevare, residents eagerly awaited the arrival of French troops and supported a ground offensive into rebel-controlled areas. “We have not come across a single Malian who is against France’s intervention,” Mabin said.
French flags could be seen flying from apartment windows and cars in Bamako, where Malians overwhelmingly praised France’s support and appeared to welcome the prospect of having French soldiers in their territory.
“We are proud of the French,” Moussa, a man who fled his native Timbuktu months ago, told France Inter radio. “We have been suffocating and [France] has given us a breath of oxygen. We are ready to fly Malian and French flags alongside each other.”
France's Le Drian told a press conference on Saturday that France had intervened not only because the security of Mali and West Africa were in peril, but because there was also a threat to France and Europe.
Read more: Mali-based Islamists pledge attacks on French soil - MALI - FRANCE - FRANCE 24
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