French fighter jets Mirage 2000D stepped up air strikes against Islamist rebels in Mali 1301135

French Armed Forces Operation Serval in Mali

Sunday, January 13, 2013, 01:56 PM

French fighter jets Mirage 2000D stepped up air strikes against Islamist rebels in Mali.

French fighter jets Mirage 2000D on Saturday, January 12, 2013, stepped up air raids against Malian rebels in the assistance of the former French colony's government as neighboring West African nations also got prepared to send troops. It was the second day of the air campaign staged by French air force to quash the rebels in Mali after Paris warned that the seizure of northern Mali by the armed militants posed a security threat to Europe.

French fighter jets on Saturday, January 12, 2013, stepped up air raids against Malian rebels in the assistance of the former French colony's government as neighboring West African nations also got prepared to send troops. It was the second day of the air campaign staged by French air force to quash the rebels in Mali after Paris warned that the seizure of northern Mali by the armed militants posed a security threat to Europe.

Mirage 2000D of the French Air Force ready to take-off for air strikes against Islamist rebels in Mali.

Reports said the heavily armed Islamist fighters have swept southward toward Mali's capital Bamako.

The Malian government troops, under the cover from French air power, have managed to drive the militants out of the strategic central town of Konna.

More than 100 people, including those from both the rebels and government troops, were killed during the conflicts, said a Malian military source on Saturday.

The source said "more than 100 rebels" have been killed during the fighting.

Meanwhile, a witness said he had counted 148 bodies among which several dozens were government troops. The army and its allies are combing Konna to eliminate pockets resistance.

A senior official with Malian president's office said on state television that 11 Malian soldiers were killed in the battle for Konna, with around 60 others injured.

A military source said the rebels now have no possibility to circumvent Konna to attack the south

Some western African nations feared that armed groups could use Mali as a power base to plot attacks on the West and expand their influence in Yemen, Somalia and North Africa.

The multinational force is expected to be headed by Nigerian Major-General Shehu Abdulkadir. Its troops would come from countries like Burkina Faso, Niger and Senegal, each of which announced they would send 500 soldiers.

Video briefing and take-off of Mirage 2000D for air strikes against Islamist rebels in Mali.