BAMAKO — Militants destroyed a key bridge linking eastern Mali to neighboring Niger from where African troops are planning to open a new front, sources said Friday, as a French-led offensive entered a third week. The overnight strike on the bridge at Tassiga cut the shortest road link to the militants' stronghold of Gao, and comes after French warplanes bombed their bases in the surrounding area early Thursday. Gao lies some 150 km from the Niger border in eastern Mali, where more than 2,000 Chadian soldiers and 500 troops from Niger are being deployed to open a second front against the militants from the east. But French and Malian troops advanced on Gao Friday after recapturing the northern town of Hombori. “At present, Malian and French soldiers are in Hombori. There are no longer any Islamists on the ground,” said a teacher in the town which lies 920 km north of the capital Bamako and 200 km west of Gao. A Malian security source said the troops would press on to the eastern city of Gao, one of the three major northern towns along with Kidal and Timbuktu, where the Al Qaeda-linked militants have imposed a reign of terror for 10 months. Two French men were kidnapped in Hombori in November last year and are still in captivity. The Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed the abduction. The security source added that in the west, the French-led forces who had recaptured the town of Diabaly Monday, were pushing toward the town of Lere with the aim of “taking control of Timbuktu” which lies further north. The Economic Community of West African States has pledged more than 4,500 soldiers to help Mali retake its militant-occupied north, but the deployment has been delayed by financing and logistical problems. An additional 2,000 soldiers from Chad, which is not an ECOWAS member, are also to be deployed. The Paris-led offensive has resulted in the recapture of central towns seized by the Islamists but has not yet made any inroads into the desert north. Cracks emerged in the rebel front Thursday when a faction announced it had broken away from Ansar Dine (Defenders of the Faith). The newly formed Islamic Movement for Azawad said in a statement it “rejected all forms of extremism and terrorism and was committed to fighting them,” adding that it wanted a “peaceful solution” to the crisis. The group, which said it was composed entirely of Malian nationals, called on Mali and France to cease hostilities in the zones it occupied in the northeastern regions of Kidal and Menaka. – Agencies
