Stretched in Timbuktu

7/28/2019 Stretched in Timbuktu

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Stretched in Timbuktu, Frenchwait for Africanreinforcements

By David LewisTIMBUKTU, Mali | Wed Feb 6, 2013 2:45pm EST

(Reuters) - Patrolling Timbuktu's maze of mud-brick houses, the French troops quickly lost their

way, their jeeps stuck, wheels spinning, in thesand of the ancient Saharan trading town.

"We don't know the terrain and sometimes we are working with mapsthat are out of date," said the patrol leader, Sergeant Jeremy, wholike other French soldiers deployed in Mali was only authorized togive his first name.


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Having reached Timbuktu, whose fabled name has becomesynonymous in popular English for "the middle of nowhere", theFrench forces pursuing fleeing Islamist jihadists are wondering wheretheir mission will take them next as their elusive prey scatters into thedeserts and mountains of the Sahara.

At the end of the dusty, rubbish-strewn town, a UNESCO WorldHeritage Site and famous seat of Islamic learning which wasdamaged and ransacked by the rebels, a checkpoint marks the spotwhere the sand, rock and scrub of the surrounding desert begin.

As French warplanes pound al Qaeda-allied rebel positions andsupply lines in the far northeast around the Adrar des Ifoghasmountains near Algeria, French and Malian patrols have beenfanning out from Timbuktu into the surrounding wilderness.

French intelligence this week spotted an Islamist logistics depot just50 km (30 miles) north of the city.

Fleeing rebels left behind tonnes of food and fuel, an indication of thesupply network the fast-moving insurgents have had time to set upduring months of occupation.

"It is likely that in lots of villages around Timbuktu we will find this sortof depot," Lt.-Colonel Frederic, the French officer who led the mission

to the village, told Reuters.Highlighting the problem of hunting highly mobile rebels, villagers toldthe French the insurgents headed west towards Mauritania. Buttracks suggested they went in the opposite direction.

After its lightning air and ground offensive that retook Mali's mainnorthern towns from Islamist occupiers in three weeks, Paris isfinding that its plan to hand over security to Malian and other Africantroops is moving less smoothly.

France, which has 4,000 soldiers in Mali, has said it wants to beginpulling troops out from March. But the Malian troops due to relievethem are thin on the ground and lack equipment.

West African troops meant to advance up from the southern capitalBamako to secure liberated zones behind the hard-charging Frenchhave yet to arrive in Timbuktu and elsewhere.
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DRONES IN THE SKY

The speed of the French capture of the biggest rebel- occupiedSaharan towns of Timbuktu and Gao, achieved with overwhelmingFrench air power, led to French President Francois Hollande being

feted as a "savior" by thousands of Malians when he visited Timbuktuand Bamako on Saturday.

This is no small irony when one considers that former colonial powerFrancehas often been vilified across Africa as the biggest post-independence meddler in its former territories.

But the next phase of protecting the retaken Malian towns and theroads that connect them against the likely threat of guerrilla-stylerebel reprisal attacks promises to be tougher.

AndFrance, which has lost only one serviceman so far in its Malicampaign while claiming "hundreds" of insurgent kills, is hoping thetask will not be theirs alone.

"It is a tough battle. These are terrorists - they operate in a complexway," Sergeant Jeremy said. Recent mine explosions on roadsoutside the recaptured towns have claimed Malian army and civilianlives, suggesting that the retreating insurgents could be preparing ahit-and-run war from the desert.

Europe and the United States, which are supporting the Frenchoperation in Mali with logistics and intelligence, have no plans to sendground troops and are hoping the French will stay the coursealongside the Malians.

"Of course, we have to help them but I think the Malian army hasshown it is capable," Sergeant Jeremy said, with commendablediplomacy. But the Malian soldiers meant to patrol with his unit didnot show up, except for a brief contact at the checkpoint.

In Timbuktu, the power of French air strikes in driving the heavily-armed Islamists out of the city was plain to see. The old gendarmerieused as an Islamist training center for fighters was reduced to a pileof rubble.

On the other side of town, a palace built by former Libyan leaderMuammar Gaddafi and also used as a rebel headquarters, suffered
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the same fate, its intricate wood and metalconstructionscattered inpieces across the ground.

Few in Timbuktu are convinced the rebel threat has disappearedentirely. They want the French to stay.

"We don't mind the Africans, but the French must stay," saidKadjiatou Maiga, a trader in Timbuktu's market, where sales ofFrench flags match those of Mali and residents still cheer "France,France!" each time they see a French patrol.

"The French must leave some men behind to support us. They needto leave us their drones, which we like to hear up there," she added,pointing to a cloudless sky.

AFRICAN REINFORCEMENTS EXPECTED, BUT WHEN?

In contrast to France's air assets and its fleet of jeeps and armoredcars, some Malian soldiers in Timbuktu rely on pickups, while othersget around on the back of motor-bikes.

Two Malian armored personnel carriers are parked at the town'sentrance. Theirtiresare flat.

At his base, Malian Colonel Keba Sangare, head of operations for theTimbuktu region, said security was improving.

Malian officers behind him drank late morning beers, apparently stillcelebrating the end of the severe sharia Islamic law imposed by therebels who had banned alcohol, music and parties during the 10-month Islamist occupation.

When asked if his forces were capable of defending the town alone,Sangare said cautiously: "For now, the French are still here. Let'swait for the Malian and African reinforcements to come and then wewill answer that question."

French officers in Timbuktu say they are still working to clear the townof munitions, search for booby traps and secure the surrounding areaup to a 100 km (60 mile) radius. But at each press briefing, theystress the urgency to move on.

"We are planning our departure," said Colonel Geze, the top Frenchofficer in Timbuktu. "African troops are due to come but I don't know
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which nationality. I don't have any date for their arrival," he added.

(Editing by Richard Valdmanis, Pascal Fletcher and Jon Hemming)

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Stretched in Timbuktu