Europe, Mali | featured news

French forces launch one of their biggest offensives against militants in northern Mali before the start of their troop withdrawal later this month.

Donors need to pour aid into Mali over the next six months to rebuild its strife-hit north and stop defeated militants taking advantage of the chaos to return, France's development minister said on Tuesday.

A major al-Qaeda base has been dismantled by French forces in the remote mountains of northern Mali, France's Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian says.

The UN should begin planning for African-led forces in Mali to become a full peacekeeping mission, France tells the Security Council, as clashes continue.

French President Francois Hollande's approval rating jumped this month from a record low, improving for the first time since he took office after sending troops to Mali to battle Islamist rebels.

French-backed Malian troops searched house-to-house in Gao and Timbuktu on Tuesday uncovering arms and explosives abandoned by Islamist fighters, and France said it would look to hand over longer-term security operations in Mali to an African force.

Within the past few days, French combat forces have deployed to the West African state of Mali to halt the advance of militant Islamist fighters toward the capital and to help the Malian army begin to reclaim towns previously occupied by the militants.

France pledged on Tuesday to keep troops in Mali until stability returned to the West African country, raising the specter of a long campaign against al Qaeda-linked rebels who held their ground despite a fifth day of air strikes.

The French president says the country will raise its domestic terror threat level after military action in Mali and Somalia, promising to increase protection at public buildings and transportation networks.