[ad_1]
Defense Minister Florence Parly wrote on Twitter Monday night that a French contingent stationed in the region also confiscated many weapons and equipment from the militants during the operation last Friday.
According to the minister, this operation “has demonstrated once again that terrorist groups cannot operate with impunity.”
French forces launched an operation after drones captured the motorcycles of suspected militants in the region north of Mali. Air strikes were first organized and then French commandos began ground operations.
Another large-scale military operation has been carried out for several weeks in an area near Mali’s border with Burkina Faso and Niger, a French military spokesman said.
Parly visited Bamako, the capital of Mali, on Monday and Tuesday, where he met with the head of the transitional government.
Mali’s president was overthrown by the military junta in August.
Mr Parly called for democratic elections to be held in Mali “as soon as possible” and said the current leadership had promised to do so.
France, which has survived a series of devastating attacks by Islamic extremists, has deployed 5,100 soldiers to the Sahel region in Operation Barkhane to combat jihadists.
In 2013, during a French-led military operation, Islamic extremists lost power in northern Mali, but they retreated into the desert and regrouped and now often carry out attacks against the Malian army and its allies.
Meanwhile, Mali has been plagued by political unrest for months. Under pressure from the international community, the junta has appointed a civilian-led government to run for a transition 18 months before the elections.
[ad_2]
