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French Soldiers Wrest Control of Airport in North Mali French Soldiers Wrest Control of Town in North Mali
(about 2 hours later)
KONNA, Mali — French forces took control of the airport in the Islamic rebel stronghold of Gao, the French government said on Saturday, winning the biggest prize yet in the battle to retake the northern half of Mali. KONNA, Mali — French forces took control of the Islamic rebel stronghold of Gao, the French government said Saturday, winning the biggest prize yet in the battle to retake the northern half of Mali.
Gao, which lies 600 miles northeast of the capital, Bamako, has for months been under the control of one of several Islamic militant groups seeking to overrun Mali. French airstrikes have been pounding the city since French troops joined the fight at Mali’s request on Jan. 11. In addition to the airport, troops also took control of a major bridge over the Niger River in Gao, according to the French defense minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian. Gao, which lies 600 miles northeast of the capital, Bamako, has for months been under the control of one of several Islamist groups seeking to overrun Mali. French warplanes have been pounding the city since France joined the fight at Mali’s request on Jan. 11.
Gao, one of three major cities in northern Mali, had been under the control of the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa, a splinter group of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. French troops took control of the city and handed it over to the Malian Army to secure, according to the French defense minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian.
Al Jazeera broadcast a statement from Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb in which the group said it had withdrawn temporarily from some cities it held, but would return with greater force. Soldiers from Chad and Niger are expected to arrive soon in Gao, Mr. Le Drian said in a statement. They will be part of a contingent of 1,900 African troops who have already arrived in Mali to drive out the rebels, aided by the 2,500 French soldiers deployed here.
Timbuktu, the fabled desert oasis, and Kidal, which is northeast of Gao, have been under rebel control, but little information has come from either place for the past 10 days because mobile phone networks have been down. Gao’s mayor, who had fled to Bamako, returned on Saturday, Mr. Le Drian said.
Here in Konna — which was overrun by Islamic fighters on Jan. 10, prompting France to intervene — residents and officials spoke Saturday of the recent turmoil. One of three major cities in northern Mali, Gao had been under the control of the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa, a splinter group of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
They said that at least 11 civilians had been killed in the French airstrikes. Charred husks of pickup trucks lined the road into the town, and broken tanks and guns littered the fish market, where the rebels appeared to have set up a temporary base. Al Jazeera broadcast a statement from Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb in which the group said it had withdrawn temporarily from some cities it held but would return with greater force.
Timbuktu, the fabled desert oasis, and Kidal, northeast of Gao, have been under rebel control, but little information has come from either place for the past 10 days because mobile phone networks have been down.
In Konna — which was overrun by Islamic fighters on Jan. 10, prompting France to intervene — a clearer picture began to emerge of the fighting. Residents and officials here said that at least 11 civilians had been killed in French airstrikes.
Charred husks of pickup trucks lined the road into the town, and broken tanks and guns littered the fish market, where the rebels appeared to have set up a temporary base.
France’s sudden entry into the fray has left the United Nations and Ecowas, the regional trade bloc, scrambling to put together an African-led intervention force to help retake the northern half of the country. Mali’s army, which has struggled to fight the Islamist groups, has been accused of serious human rights violations.France’s sudden entry into the fray has left the United Nations and Ecowas, the regional trade bloc, scrambling to put together an African-led intervention force to help retake the northern half of the country. Mali’s army, which has struggled to fight the Islamist groups, has been accused of serious human rights violations.
From Konna, it is easy to see why the Malian government pleaded for French help after the Islamist fighters took control of the town. Just 35 miles of smooth asphalt separate Konna from the garrison town of Sévaré, home to the second-biggest airfield in Mali and a vital strategic point for any foreign intervention force.From Konna, it is easy to see why the Malian government pleaded for French help after the Islamist fighters took control of the town. Just 35 miles of smooth asphalt separate Konna from the garrison town of Sévaré, home to the second-biggest airfield in Mali and a vital strategic point for any foreign intervention force.
Residents said their town fell to the rebels when 300 pickup trucks of fighters, bristling with machine guns, rolled in and pushed back the Malian Army troops who had been guarding the town after a fierce battle.Residents said their town fell to the rebels when 300 pickup trucks of fighters, bristling with machine guns, rolled in and pushed back the Malian Army troops who had been guarding the town after a fierce battle.
Amadou Traore, a 29-year-old tire repairman, said residents had heard that the Islamist rebels had surrounded the town before the attack, but he had been confident that the army would keep them at bay.Amadou Traore, a 29-year-old tire repairman, said residents had heard that the Islamist rebels had surrounded the town before the attack, but he had been confident that the army would keep them at bay.
“We thought there was no way for them to enter into the town,” he said. “But they came in the night. They told us, ‘Tomorrow we will go to Sévaré.’ ”“We thought there was no way for them to enter into the town,” he said. “But they came in the night. They told us, ‘Tomorrow we will go to Sévaré.’ ”
A woman who lives in his compound was hit by a bullet, he said, and badly injured. They tried to take her to the town clinic, but the doctor there had fled. A woman who lives in his compound was hit by a bullet, he said. They tried to take her to the town clinic, but the doctor had fled. “There was no doctor, no nurses,” Mr. Traore said. “After two days, she died.”
“There was no doctor, no nurses,” he said. “After two days, she died.”
Baro Coulibaly fled her house along the main road into town, moving with her husband and six children to the relative safety of the town center, where they stayed with her in-laws. They hunkered down for days, hearing the sound of French bombs and rebel bullets ricocheting around the mud-walled dwellings.Baro Coulibaly fled her house along the main road into town, moving with her husband and six children to the relative safety of the town center, where they stayed with her in-laws. They hunkered down for days, hearing the sound of French bombs and rebel bullets ricocheting around the mud-walled dwellings.
“Nobody could get in or out,” Ms. Coulibaly said. “We were so afraid we barely ate or slept.”“Nobody could get in or out,” Ms. Coulibaly said. “We were so afraid we barely ate or slept.”
Residents said they heard that the fearsome Tuareg leader of the Islamist group Ansar Dine, Iyad ag Ghali, had led the attack on their town, but no one saw him in person. The rebels spoke many languages, according to the residents. Some were light skinned Arabs and Tuaregs, a nomadic people, while others were dark skinned people who spoke the local languages of Niger, Nigeria and Mali. Residents said they heard that the fearsome Tuareg leader of the Islamist group Ansar Dine, Iyad ag Ghali, had led the attack on their town, but no one saw him in person. The rebels spoke many languages, according to the residents. Some were light-skinned Arabs and Tuaregs, a nomadic people, while others were dark-skinned people who spoke the local languages of Niger, Nigeria and Mali.
“Among them they were speaking many languages,” said Boubacar Diallo, a local political leader. “Even some youths from this town joined them.” Boubacar Diallo, a local political leader, said that only a few rebel fighters came at first. Later, hundreds more joined them, overwhelming the Malian soldiers based here. He said he had never seen them pray and scoffed at their assertion that they would teach the Muslim population a purer form of Islam.
Mr. Diallo said that at first only a few rebel fighters came. Later, hundreds more joined them, overwhelming the Malian soldiers based here.
He said he never saw them pray and scoffed at their assertion that they would teach a purer form of Islam to the Muslim population of the town.
“They say they are Muslims, but I don’t know any Muslim who does not pray,” Mr. Diallo said.“They say they are Muslims, but I don’t know any Muslim who does not pray,” Mr. Diallo said.
The fighters took down the Malian flag and raised a banner of their own, a white piece of paper printed with words in Arabic and adorned with pictures of machine guns. The fighters took down the Malian flag and raised a banner of their own, a white piece of paper printed with words in Arabic — “Assembly for the Spiritual Ideology to Purify the African World” — and pictures of machine guns.
“Assembly for the Spiritual Ideology to Purify the African World,” the paper banner read.
After the Islamist fighters fled, Mr. Diallo took it down and replaced it with the Malian flag.After the Islamist fighters fled, Mr. Diallo took it down and replaced it with the Malian flag.

Scott Sayare contributed reporting from Paris.

Scott Sayare contributed reporting from Paris.