Hollande pledges French withdrawal from Mali

BAMAKO – After stopping in Timbuktu, French President Francois Hollande visited Malis capital, Bamako, where he held formal talks with his Malian counterpart Dioncounda Traore on the eventual hand-over of the French operation to a UN-backed African force.Hollande, accompanied by his ministers for defence, foreign affairs and development, was on a one-day trip to the Sahel nation to support French troops who in three weeks have ousted fighters allied with al-Qaeda from Malis main northern towns.The French president said that his countrys operation, which has 3,500 soldiers on Malian soil backed by warplanes, helicopters and armoured vehicles, aims to make way eventually for a UN-backed African force, which is still being deployed.Hollande told the French soldiers on Friday that he was happy with their efforts but the fight is not over and it would be a mistake to think that with our Malian friends we have found the means to secure the towns of Gao and Timbuktu and we should stop there.The Malian authorities, and it is their responsibility, want to recover the territorial integrity that has been removed from them for some time and we will be by their side to continue this operation in the northern part of the country. But we do not have the intention of staying, because our African friends will carry on the work we have done so far, Hollande said.And then ECOWAS and Malians will ensure the security of the entirety of the Malian territory, he added. Hollandes visit to Mali comes as the French-led military intervention in the country to recapture towns from al-Qaeda-linked rebel groups was swiftly coming to a close.Al Jazeeras Jacky Rowland, reporting from the airport in Timbuktu, said that the final stage of the military intervention was yet to be completed.To what extent the mission is accomplished is a pertinent one, the first two legs of the mission as outlined by the French have been accomplished: the drive southwards by the rebels has been stopped, and the French with the Malian army have been able to retake towns taken by the rebels, she said.But the final stage of that mission, as outlined by Hollande, to restore the whole of the country as a unified nation under central government control, is still some way off.He is accompanied by his Foreign Minister Lauren Fabius, Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and Development Minister Pascal Canin for the one day visit, as well as interim Malian President Dioncounda Traore.Agencies