French president Hollande to visit Mali tomorrow

Paris: French President Francois Hollande’s office says he is to visit Mali on Saturday. His office said in a statement Friday that Hollande will be accompanied on the trip by France’s foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, and the defense minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian. [caption id=“attachment_610415” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  AP[/caption] France’s military intervention in Mali has entered the fourth week, after rapidly forcing Islamists’ retreat from major towns. French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian made the comments on Thursday after French-led forces took control of the three provincial capitals held by the Islamists since last April. But Le Drian told France Inter radio that doesn’t mean that the military risks and combat are finished. He says the French don’t intend to stay but “this isn’t the time to disengage.” France launched its military offensive 11 January after radical Islamists surged into central Mali from their strongholds in the north. AP