Malian troops, French, reclaim ground

French soldiers have come to the aid of the Mali government against al-Qaeda-linked militants. Source: AAP

MALIAN troops, backed by French aircraft, have reclaimed the central town of Kona from Islamist rebels within hours of a French intervention in support of government forces.

French airstrikes cleared the way for Malian forces to retake the town which the rebels had captured on Thursday on a march south from their northern strongholds, France Info radio reported on Saturday.

French President Francois Hollande announced on Friday that France had agreed to a request from Mali for military assistance to help drive back the rebels, who have been in control of the desert north for nearly a year.

Hollande said the "terrorists" threatened "Mali's very existence" as well as regional peace and security.

Elisabeth Guigou, president of parliament's foreign affairs commission, told French radio on Saturday that French troops had been deployed to protect French nationals.

France has around 6000 citizens in Mali, some of whom had begun arriving back in Paris on Saturday after the Foreign Ministry called on them to leave the country.

At least seven French hostages are also being held by the armed groups based in northern Mali.

Meanwhile, Malian President Dioncounda Traore declared a state of emergency on Friday night and called on Malians to reunite for the reconquest of territories occupied by the rebels.

France is the first European country to intervene in the nearly-one-year-old Malian conflict.

US officials have said Washington DC is considering joining in with intelligence and logistical support.

Hollande said that the intervention was in line with UN resolutions authorising the deployment of an African force in support of the Malian army and an EU military training mission.

The regional West African bloc ECOWAS, which is preparing the African force, praised the French intervention.

The intervention marks a turning point nearly a year after ethnic Tuareg and Islamist rebels took advantage of a coup in the capital Bamako to seize control of the ancient town of Timbuktu and two other towns.

Since then, the Tuareg rebels have become sidelined by ultraconservative Islamist factions, who have imposed strict Islamic law in the region, including stonings and amputations.

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