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| French-led troops 'have control of Timbuktu airport' | French-led troops 'have control of Timbuktu airport' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| French-led troops in Mali have taken control of the airport in the key northern city of Timbuktu, French military officials say. | French-led troops in Mali have taken control of the airport in the key northern city of Timbuktu, French military officials say. |
| The troops encountered no resistance as they headed towards the city, a senior officer with the Malian army told AFP news agency. | The troops encountered no resistance as they headed towards the city, a senior officer with the Malian army told AFP news agency. |
| French and Malian troops have been pushing north in their offensive against Islamist rebels. | French and Malian troops have been pushing north in their offensive against Islamist rebels. |
| On Saturday, they seized Gao, the most populous city in northern Mali. | On Saturday, they seized Gao, the most populous city in northern Mali. |
| Thousands of people poured out into the streets to celebrate the arrival of the troops. | |
| Islamists seized the north of the country last year, but have been losing ground since French forces launched an operation earlier this month. | |
| Most militants appear to have fled into desert hideouts, says the BBC's Thomas Fessy in the capital, Bamako. | |
| The advance comes as African Union leaders are meeting to discuss sending more troops to Mali. | |
| Last stronghold | |
| "We control the airport at Timbuktu," a senior Malian army officer told the AFP. "We did not encounter any resistance." | |
| A military spokesman in Paris told the AFP that the French and Malian troops now control access to the city as well as the territory between Timbuktu and Gao. | |
| Once Timbuktu is secured, the French-led troops are expected to focus on the last rebel stronghold, Kidal, near the border with Algeria. | |
| Kidal - home of the head of Ansar Dine, the main militant group in northern Mali - was bombed overnight by French forces, Malian officials say. | |
| Once Kidal is taken, the first phase of the French operation will be over, our correspondent says. | |
| The second phase will be to track down the militants to their desert hideouts, which could prove a much more difficult task, he adds. |