France is expected to more than triple its troop numbers in Mali as raids continue on Islamist insurgents following overnight air strikes on a small town that had been seized by the rebels.

Sources close to the French defence minister, quoted by Agence France-Presse, said French troop numbers would "progressively" reach 2,500.

President François Hollande, speaking from a French military base in Abu Dhabi at the start of a day-long visit to the United Arab Emirates, said: "We will continue the deployment of forces on the ground and in the air. We have 750 troops deployed at the moment and that will keep increasing, so that as quickly as possible we can hand over to the Africans."

He said French forces in Mali had carried out further strikes overnight, "which hit their targets".

A convoy of 40 to 50 armed trucks carrying French troops crossed into Mali on Tuesday from Ivory Coast, where they were stationed.

West African defence chiefs are meeting in Bamako to approve plans to speed up the deployment of 3,300 regional troops, foreseen in a UN-backed intervention plan to be led by Africans. The beginning of the African troop deployment is expected to take at least a week. The troops from the Ecowas grouping of west African states are expected to bolster the Malian army, which is in total disarray following a coup last year and the fall of the desert north to Islamist groups, who operate a drug trafficking and kidnap economy in northern Mali and other Sahelian countries.

France has carried out air strikes since Friday in a vast desert area seized last year by an Islamist alliance, which combines al-Qaida's north-African wing, AQIM, with Mali's home-grown Movement for Oneness and Jihad in west Africa (Mojwa) and Ansar Dine rebel groups.

The UN refugee agency said the military clashes in northern Mali were adding to the already large numbers of people who had fled its recent conflicts.

snip

Read more here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/15/french-troops-triple-mali

Hmmmm - worth watching? Is France getting themselves into an Afghanistan/Iraq fiasco?

Nope - the scramble for Africa has begun!

Its is the re-colonization of Africa >>>>

Whatch America's effort closely from now on. This is the race to the moon all over imo - just this time it's with China rather than the Ruskies.

Sadly, Sky, I think you are absolutely dead on.

It is, indeed, the race for Africa - her minerals, water, oil, gas, whatever.

Sigh!

Mali is the 3rd largest gold producer in the world... here's the rest of the list....

Natural resources: gold, phosphates, kaolin, salt, limestone, uranium, gypsum, granite, hydropower
note: bauxite, iron ore, manganese, tin, and copper deposits are known but not exploited

http://www.indexmundi.com/mali/natural_resources.html



leo

Thanks, Leo.

Kaolin, huh?

Technology draws bead on hydraulic fracturing
Posted: Tuesday, January 15, 2013 2:15 pm | Updated: 2:45 pm, Tue Jan 15, 2013



Read more here: http://www.mywesttexas.com/business/top_picks/article_3eba1ca0-b770-5fb5-8767-308cb70c40ba.html

It always comes back to the oil industry, doesn't it?

I also found out that the State of Georgia in the US is the world's largest producer of kaolin.

Also, I found out that there were 15 companies involved in kaolin production in the 1990's. There are now only 6 companies due to consolidations and buy outs.

Some things never change!