French and Malian troops retook the towns of Diabaly and Douentza from the Qaeda-linked groups.

French and Malian troops retook the towns of Diabaly and Douentza from the Qaeda-linked groups.

French Defense Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, announced on Monday that after heavy fighting in Diabaly over the past week there French and Malian troops entered the town earlier on Monday.

There was uncertainty over whether the militants had fled, but French and Malian troops met no resistance when they earlier Monday entered the town, Agence France Presse reported.
Le Drian said in a statement that Diabaly was now under the control of French and Malian troops and that the central town of Douentza had also been retaken.

French warplanes have pounded suspected militants positions around both towns since France swept to the military intervention in Mali on January 11, a day after the Qaeda-linked groups made a push towards the capital Bamako.

Diabaly, which lies 400 kilometers north of Bamako, was seized by the gunmen a week ago in an attack that surprised observers as the town lies deep within supposedly government-held territory.

Douentza lies in what was militants territory east and north of the town of Konna, whose following its capture earlier this month France announced its military intervention. Konna was recaptured by the Malian army last week.