French President Francois Hollande is to visit Mali as his troops were preparing to secure the last stronghold of Qaeda-linked militants in the north.

French President Francois Hollande is to visit Mali as his troops were preparing to secure the last stronghold of Qaeda-linked militants in the north.

Hollande will fly into Bamako to meet interim President Dioncounda Traore, his office said.
He is set to visit Timbuktu, recently seized from militants by French and Malian troops, on Saturday.
Hollande will be joined on his trip by Foreign Minister Lauren Fabius, Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and Development Minister Pascal Canin.

The trip comes as troops are gathered at the gates of Kidal, a sandy northeastern outpost that is the last stronghold of the militants in the poor west African country, poised to secure the town after capturing its airport on Wednesday.

In the fabled city of Timbuktu, a school reopened on Friday for the first time since a March coup in Bamako which paved the way for the gunmen to seize towns across northern Mali.

The French-led troops -- which now number about 3,500 -- have met little resistance in their campaign to free northern Mali, with many of the extremists believed to have slipped into the desert hills around Kidal since France launched air strikes on their bases.

Heavy air strikes have rained down on militants command centers, depots and training camps in the mountainous region near the Algerian border in recent days, a French military spokesman told journalists Thursday.

France is keen to hand over its military operation to nearly 8,000 African troops slowly being deployed.