Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

French troops advance in Mali as Islamists melt away
Reuters ^ | Jan 20, 2013 | Bate Felix

Posted on 01/20/2013 2:37:26 PM PST by mdittmar

(Reuters) - French troops advanced cautiously toward northern Mali on Sunday amid fears of ambush by al Qaeda-linked fighters, while its fighter jets pounded the Islamists' strongholds in the desert near Timbuktu.

In the central Malian town of Diabaly, seized by Islamist fighters on Monday, the wreckage of the Islamists' charred pick-up trucks lay abandoned among the mud-brick buildings, television images showed.

Residents of the town, some 350 km (220 miles) from the capital Bamako, said Islamists had fled into the bush after French airstrikes.

The commanders of French and Malian forces, who set up their operations center in the nearby town of Niono, said their forces were moving slowly toward Diabaly after reports that Islamist fighters had abandoned their turbans and flowing robes to blend in with local residents.

"There are risks of mines and booby traps in houses, that is why we have to be careful," a French commander who would be identified only as Colonel Frederic told reporters sheltering from the sun in a grove of trees.

France has deployed 2,000 ground troops and its war planes have pounded rebel columns and bases for 10 days, turning back an Islamist advance towards the riverside capital which Paris said would have toppled Mali's government.

(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: alqaedamali; maliwar
Vive la France
1 posted on 01/20/2013 2:37:35 PM PST by mdittmar
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: mdittmar
Retreating ... from the French.

Think about that for a second.

2 posted on 01/20/2013 2:41:36 PM PST by martin_fierro (< |:)~)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: martin_fierro

This might be their first victory in over 100 years! Maybe the French have started to grow a pair. Does it really matter if they win while looking fabulous and eating gourmet MREs?
LOL!


3 posted on 01/20/2013 2:44:57 PM PST by Jack Hydrazine (It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: martin_fierro

Are they really retreating or blending in with the population?

I urge France not to adopt any United States Rules of Engagement, Kill them when you see them no matter where they are, or who they are hiding among.


4 posted on 01/20/2013 2:45:44 PM PST by Venturer
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: mdittmar
French troops advance in Mali as Islamists melt away.

This means very little. The Islamists are probably just following Mao's very successful strategy:

"The enemy advances, we retreat; the enemy camps, we harass; the enemy tires, we attack; the enemy retreats, we pursue."

5 posted on 01/20/2013 2:53:04 PM PST by Leaning Right
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Leaning Right

Exactly what I thought. Mali is larger than Afghanistan. If we couldn’t get rid of the Taliban there, these rebels won’t be leaving Mali any time soon. They’ll just wait it out until the French leave.


6 posted on 01/20/2013 2:58:22 PM PST by Viennacon
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: mdittmar

I hope that all these kids mocking these French troops while they are engaged in combat against our enemies, are at least veterans.


7 posted on 01/20/2013 3:11:18 PM PST by ansel12 (Cruz said "conservatives trust Sarah Palin that if she says this guy is a conservative, that he is")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ansel12

Why bother negotiating houses that might be booby trapped? Just blow them up and move on.


8 posted on 01/20/2013 3:18:14 PM PST by EQAndyBuzz (I own a weapon to protect my family from those wanting to take that weapon away.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: mdittmar

No doubt the French bloodied them, but unless the West deals with the Wahhabi in Saudi Arabia who fund and motivate them, the attacks will resume in Mali, Algeria and worldwide..


9 posted on 01/20/2013 3:20:49 PM PST by allendale
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Leaning Right

Exactly! What happened to the US in Afghanistan will happen to the French in Mali. Hasn’t anyone learned anything since Vietnam?


10 posted on 01/20/2013 3:21:31 PM PST by Pining_4_TX (All those who were appointed to eternal life believed. Acts 13:48)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Leaning Right

Islam does not ‘melt away’. You may kill them, and , in a very few instances, convert them, but only in the mind of a Public Relations Flack, will they ‘melt away’. Nice try, shallow phoney PR pump.
TWB


11 posted on 01/20/2013 3:33:28 PM PST by TWhiteBear (Sarah Palin...The Flame of the North)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Leaning Right

Islam does not ‘melt away’. You may kill them, and , in a very few instances, convert them, but only in the mind of a Public Relations Flack, will they ‘melt away’. Nice try, shallow phoney PR pump.
TWB


12 posted on 01/20/2013 3:34:09 PM PST by TWhiteBear (Sarah Palin...The Flame of the North)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: mdittmar

Although France and Algeria don’t get along, I hope the Algerians let the French move in from the north, cutting off any escape except through open desert.


13 posted on 01/20/2013 3:34:44 PM PST by VanShuyten ("a shadow...draped nobly in the folds of a gorgeous eloquence.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Pining_4_TX

The Islamic people do not have the loyalty of the people-—This is why the French will win.


14 posted on 01/20/2013 5:18:58 PM PST by Forward the Light Brigade (Into the Jaws of H*ll)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: Jack Hydrazine

As the British Expeditionary Force (and many others) was evacuating at Dunkirk the remains of the french army fought on to delay the Germans.

After a few days they simply went home on extended leave?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Lille_(1940)


15 posted on 01/20/2013 5:21:31 PM PST by DUMBGRUNT (The best is the enemy of the good!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: mdittmar

Bring back Charles the Hammer!


16 posted on 01/20/2013 6:11:11 PM PST by Incorrigible (If I lead, follow me; If I pause, push me; If I retreat, kill me.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Forward the Light Brigade

True, but how long will the French stay? And there will still be terrorists sneaking back in to wage guerilla war.

I hope the French can accomplish what their goal and make it permanent, but I have my doubts.


17 posted on 01/20/2013 8:22:52 PM PST by Pining_4_TX (All those who were appointed to eternal life believed. Acts 13:48)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson