The French and Malian forces are advancing significantly on the key northern city of Timbuktu, as they press on with their offensive against Islamist militants in the north of the country.

Goa which is one of the key towns in the north was sized by French and Malian troops in their offensive assaults against Islamist fighters in the north over the weekend.

Earlier on, the forces had taken the town of Hombori before moving to take Gao and are now targeting Timbuktu one of the ancient town in Africa.

French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said Malian and French troops would arrive near Timbuktu soon.

He said they have secured Gao – northern Mali’s most populous city- after the Special Forces captured the airport and a strategic bridge to the south.

Analysts say the Islamist Fighters are taking refugee in the desert which will make it difficult for the joint force to pursue them in the desert but are quite happy that they are leaving the towns for the French and Malian forces.

In a related development to the conflict, Africa Union leaders met in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa over the weekend and pledged their support to the Malian people.

The Outgoing AU chairman Boni Yayi commended France for its military intervention, saying it was something the African Union should have done a long time ago to defend a member country.

The leaders of the continent also revealed their plan of making an African Standby Force operational in Mali soon.

They then pledged unanimously nearly 5,700 troops to support French and Malian forces in their campaign.

On the sidelines of the Addis Ababa summit, the EU pledged 50m euros (£42.6m) to boost the multinational force, saying further 250m euros of development money would also be made available to the body.

Issaka Adams / NationalTurk Africa News       

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