Tuesday, January 29, 2013

War In Mali -- News Updates January 29, 2013

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With Timbuktu Retaken, France Signals It Plans to Pull Back in Mali -- New York Times

SEGOU, Mali — French paratroopers arrived in the ancient desert oasis of Timbuktu on Monday, securing its airport and main roads as thousands of residents poured out of its narrow, mud-walled streets to greet French and Malian troops, waving the two countries’ flags, with whoops, cheers and shouts.

“Timbuktu has fallen,” said the city’s mayor, Halle Ousmane Cissé, in a telephone interview from the capital, Bamako, where he has been in exile since the Islamist militants took over the city 10 months ago. He said he planned to return to his city on Tuesday.

The rapid advance to Timbuktu, a day after French and African troops took firm control of the former rebel stronghold of Gao, may spell the beginning of the end of France’s major involvement in the conflict here.

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More News On The War In Mali

Mali Live Blog -- Al Jazeera
French President On Military Offensive: 'We Are Winning In Mali'
-- CNN
Malian, French troops force Islamists to retreat
-- Sydney Morning Herald
French-led troops secure hold on Timbuktu -- BBC
Malian troops uncover rebel arms caches in recaptured towns -- Reuters
Tuaregs Say They Seized Mali Towns From Islamists -- NPR/AP
In northern Mali's war, al-Qaeda affiliate is directing the fight -- Washington Post
Islamists in Mali lose control of key cities; remaining extremists hunted down, beaten in Gao -- Washington Post/AP
Radical Islamists fleeing Timbuktu leave legacy of destruction behind them
-- Reuters

Mali crisis: 330 UK military personnel sent to West Africa - -BBC
U.K. Offers Military Trainers for Mali -- Wall Street Journal
U.K. Aids France by Boosting Mali Support Force -- Bloomberg Businessweek
UK troops to be sent to Mali, Downing Street confirms -- The Guardian
Italy backs off on military assistance in Mali -- AP
EU, plus Norway and Canada, meet to pledge personnel for military training mission in Mali -- Washington Post/AP

Mali conflict: Donor conference raises $455m -- BBC
Western Donors Pledge More Mali Funds as Troops Take Timbuktu -- Bloomberg
Donors pledge $455 million to Mali military push
-- AP
International Donors Pledge Aid for Mali Force -- Voice of America
Donors pledge millions for war-torn Mali -- Al Jazeera
Mali: French bring the troops, world now bringing the funds -- Christian Science Monitor

Mali’s Centuries-Old Timbuktu Scrolls May Have Survived
-- Bloomberg
Rebels Torch Mali Library of Historic Manuscripts -- Voice of America
Timbuktu: ancient seat of Islamic learning, home to thousands of precious Islamic manuscripts -- Washington Post/AP
Mali: Timbuktu Locals Saved Some of City’s Ancient Manuscripts from Islamists -- Time

African media debate Mali intervention
-- BBC
Nihilist destruction in Mali -- The Australian
US official: Mali intervention 'could take years' -- AP
Mali Exposes Flaws in West's Security Plans -- Wall Street Journal

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