French President Froncois Hollande arrived in Mali on Saturday, in a bid to push for the deployment of African troops in the former French colony.

French President Froncois Hollande arrived in Mali on Saturday, in a bid to push for the deployment of African troops in the former French colony.

The French leader's whirlwind tour came as troops worked to secure Kidal, the last bastion of al-Qaeda linked militants who seized control last year after a coup, raising fears that an area larger than France could become a safe haven for them.

Hollande was met by French and Malian troops in Timbuktu, whose sandy streets were patrolled by armored vehicles, after starting his trip in the central garrison town of Sevare, where he joined up with Mali's interim president Dioncounda Traore.

With the rebels ousted from all major towns but  Kidal, France is keen to hand over its military operation to nearly 8,000 African troops slowly being deployed in the country -- which the United Nations is considering turning into a formal UN peacekeeping operation.

With the rebels ousted from all major towns but  Kidal, France is keen to hand over its military operation to nearly 8,000 African troops slowly being deployed in the country -- which the United Nations is considering turning into a formal UN peacekeeping operation.

In Kidal, a first contingent of Chadian troops has now entered the town, a Malian security source said Friday, and French soldiers are stationed at the airport, which they captured Wednesday.

Rights groups have reported summary executions by both the Malian army and the militants, who capitalized on the chaos unleashed by a March coup to seize an area the size of Texas.

Human Rights Watch said Friday that extremists were implicated in the execution of at least seven Malian soldiers, slitting their throats or shooting them in the mouth.

It also said Malian troops had shot at least 13 suspected militants supporters in Sevare and dumped them into wells, a report corroborated by other rights groups.