French Troops Enter Last Mali Rebel Stronghold

French forces have entered Kidal, the last major stronghold of Islamist militants who seized control of northern Mali last year.

The French military said Wednesday that troops took control of the Kidal airport and deployed in the town overnight, continuing a week-long push to retake the north's population centers.

Haminy Maiga, head of the Kidal regional assembly, said the French troops encountered no resistance.

The secular Tuareg rebel group MNLA said earlier this week that its fighters had taken control of Kidal. ?

The MNLA joined with Islamists to seize northern Mali after a coup last March.? The groups later split in a dispute about Sharia law and the Islamists asserted control of the region.

Meanwhile, the vast majority of ancient manuscripts in the Malian city of Timbuktu are reported to be safe.

The city's mayor reported that Islamists set fire to a major manuscript library as they fled the town.

But Shamil Jeppie, an expert on the manuscripts at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, said Wednesday that his sources say most of the books and papers were hidden by local residents during the Islamists' 10-month rule.

French and Malian troops searched houses in Timbuktu and Gao on Tuesday, recovering weapons and explosives left by fleeing Islamists.? At least five people suspected of collaborating with the militants were detained in Gao.

In Timbuktu, residents looted stores owned by Arabs and Tuaregs suspected of working with the militants, who left earlier this week.

French troops entered Mali two weeks ago when the Islamists began moving towards the capital, Bamako.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Tuesday that France will stay in Mali as long as necessary.? But, there are already plans for an African-led force to take over peacekeeping duties.

International donors pledged $455 million Tuesday for a peacekeeping mission expected to cost as much as $1 billion.

French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault says France wants international monitors sent to Mali as quickly as possible, to ensure that human rights are respected.

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  This photo released by the French Army Communications Audiovisual office shows a French soldier guarding Timbuktu airport, Mali, January 28, 2013.

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  This photo released by the French Army Communications Audiovisual office shows a crowd cheering the arrival of French soldiers in Timbuktu, Mali, January 28, 2013.

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  A Malian family's taxi is searched at a checkpoint on the Gao road outside Sevare, 620 kilometers north of Mali's capital Bamako, January 27, 2013.

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  A man rides past the well where U.N. director of Human Rights Watch Philippe Bolopion says the bodies of suspected Islamist rebels were dumped, Sevare, Mali, January 28, 2013.

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  A mosque damaged in fighting between French-backed Malian troops and al-Qaida-linked militants is seen in the recently liberated town of Konna, Mali, January 27, 2013.

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  Storage lockers at a fish market used as a military base by al-Qaida-linked militants are seen in Konna, Mali, January 27, 2013.

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  Malian soldier Ousmane Cisse stands guard on an open road outside Sevare, Mali, January 27, 2013.

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  Malian soldiers ride in an army pickup truck in Diabaly, January 26, 2013.

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Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

Source: http://www.voanews.com/content/french-troops-enter-last-mali-rebel-stronghold/1593534.html

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