This has been confirmed by an official of the Touareg National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad, which reported this Monday about the liberation of Kidal from Islamic fighters.
The situation in Mali has been aggravated in recent weeks.
A French military force arrived in Mali on the 10th of this month to reinforce the Malian Army.
Voice of Russia,?RIA
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UK to send advisers to Mali?
Britain will send hundreds of military advisers to Mali to boost the French forces battling the Islamist separatists in the troubled West African country.?
The 330-strong British team will be training Malian soldiers and will not be taking part in combat operations.
Malian government vows to hold fair election
The Malian government has vowed to hold ?fair and transparent? presidential election by the end of next July. Mali?s acting President Dioncounda Traore broke the news at an international conference in Addis Ababa on donor aid for the counter-extremist operation in northern Mali.
He said that the operation?s goal was to liberate the rebel-controlled northern parts of the country and restore the rule of law.
At present, the Malian army supported by French troops is mounting an offensive on rebel strongholds. Earlier, Bamako regained control of two major northern cities ? Gao and Timbuktu.
Donor aid for Mali operation to exceed $450 mln
International donor aid to for the military and humanitarian operation in Mali will amount to $450 million under an agreement reached at a summit conference on Mali, which is currently being held in Ethiopia.
The African Union promised $50 million worth of aid for the coalition forces helping the Malian government to combat Islamic extremists.
Meanwhile, French and Malian troops have reportedly entered the ancient northern city of Timbuktu without any significant resistance from Islamists.
Last Saturday, rebel forces were ousted from Goa, the most densely-populated city in the north of Mali. And on Tuesday, Tuaregs took control of another major city, Kidal.
Tuaregs oust Islamists from Kidal in northeast Mali
In Mali, Tuareg rebels have seized Kidal, a major city in the northeast of the country. According to a statement published on the website of the National Movement for the Liberation Movement of Azawad, Tuaregs ousted Islamists from Kidal and are ready to fight terrorist groups and to cooperate with French troops.
After last spring?s failed army coup in the capital Bamaco, Tuaregs proclaimed an independent state of their own in the northeast, but by the end of June the area became controlled by Al Qaeda-linked Islamists and other radical groups.
Earlier this month, France sent troops to Mali to curb Islamists and help the authorities restore control over the rebel north.
Mali Islamists get help from abroad ? Gao mayor
Mali?s Islamist militants are receiving outside military help, a Voice of Russia?s correspondent has cited Gao Mayor Sadu Diallo as saying in a TV interview.
The mayor of the recently recaptured Malian city Gao has accused Qatar, among others, of sending its cargo planes to rebel-controlled airports.
He said that without Qatar?s help, who had also been providing Islamist insurgents with financial aid, the radicals wouldn?t have been able to hold Gao and other northern cities in Mali.
Mr. Diallo pointed out that Islamists had been seeking to impose strict Sharia laws on local residents and virtually made their life a living hell.
Many experts believe that Qatar has been trying to get the upper hand strategically in West Africa and in the Sahel region to challenge Saudi Arabia in the Muslim world. Islamists? defeat would throw it back, pundits say.
France will not remain in Mali - Hollande
France does not intend to remain in Mali after achieving victory over the separatists according to a statement by French President Francois Hollande.
The French military is currently in Mali to help the Malian army regain control over the country and will pass the baton to forces from neighboring African states.
Hollande hailed the "courage and effectiveness" of the French soldiers who, in a short time, have managed to stop advancing terrorists, inflict upon them serious damage with the help of air strikes and with the Malian army secure the release of the major cities of Mali.
The French President stressed that it was an extremely complex operation whose purpose was not only the destruction of the terrorists, but also to preserve the lives of civilians.
Voice of Russia,?BBC, TASS, Interfax
Source: http://english.ruvr.ru/2013_01_30/French-military-seizes-Kidal-airport-in-Mali/
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