Bamako -
In a recent article, Vancouver-based writer and anti-war activist, Roger Annis, maintains that the French intervention had long been planned. He also claims that the French intend to stay in Mali for a long time and not withdraw quickly as they claim..
Bamako -
French president Francois Hollande claims that the attack and hostage crisis in the remote desert gas plant in Algeria, shows that the French military intervention in Mali was justified.
Bamako -
French military intervention in northern Mali has provoked threats from Islamic extremists that French citizens are at risk "wherever they find themselves in the Muslim world."
Britain has offered logistical help to assist the French operation against Islamic extremists in northern Mali. Two military transport planes are to be deployed though British personnel will not be used in a combat role.
