France confirms tough fight in northern Mali
France's defence minister has said that French troops are involved in "very violent fighting" in the mountains of northern Mali and that it is too early to talk about a quick pullout from the West African country, despite the growing cost of the intervention.
The fighting against rebels in the Adrar des Ifoghas mountains has been going on for days.
A clash in the area killed 23 soldiers from neighbouring Chad on Friday, according to a letter from French President Francois Hollande expressing condolences to his Chadian counterpart.
Soldiers from Chad and a few other African countries have joined the French-led operation to help Mali's weak military push back rebels who had imposed harsh rule on northern Mali and started moving toward the capital last month.
Meanwhile, a suicide bomber in northern Mali drove a car bomb on Tuesday at a checkpoint in the city of Kidal manned by Tuareg rebels supporting the French-led offensive, a French military official said.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2013/02/2013226221846648835.html