{"id":2029,"date":"2013-01-17T07:03:00","date_gmt":"2013-01-17T07:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/catholic-official-says-mali-relieved-by-french-intervention\/"},"modified":"2013-01-17T07:03:00","modified_gmt":"2013-01-17T07:03:00","slug":"catholic-official-says-mali-relieved-by-french-intervention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2013\/01\/catholic-official-says-mali-relieved-by-french-intervention\/","title":{"rendered":"Catholic official says Mali relieved by French intervention"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Bamako, Mali, Jan 17, 2013 \/ 12:03 am (CNA<\/a>).- French military invention in Mali has \u201cgreatly comforted\u201d the country's people who feared jihadist rebels could expand far into the country\u2019s south, a Catholic Church official has said.<\/p>\n

\tFather Edmond Dembele, secretary of the Episcopal Conference of Mali, told Fides news agency that Malians had \u201cheld their breath\u201d for fear of the success of the rebels.<\/p>\n

\tNow those in rebel occupied territory \u201clook with hope\u201d to the military operations. However, they worry about bombings and do not know what the reaction of the rebels will be when they leave cities like Konna, which they occupied on Jan. 10.<\/p>\n

\tFr. Dembele said Malians are now waiting for the land offensive.<\/p>\n

\tFrench President Francois Hollande ordered an intervention in Mali Jan. 11 to counter rebel attempts to move into Mali\u2019s south from the north. French warplanes began air strikes on rebel positions<\/p>\n

\tFrench ground troops have aided the Mali army in armed combat against Islamist rebels, killing more than 100 militants. At least 11 Malian soldiers and a French helicopter pilot have also died, the BBC reports. There are about 800 French troops in Mali and their numbers will triple soon.<\/p>\n

\tAnother 3,300 troops from a regional West African force are expected to join the fight against the rebels. They include troops from Nigeria and the Ivory Coast. Benin, Ghana, Niger, Senegal, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Togo have also promised troops.<\/p>\n

\tThis Saturday West African leaders will hold a summit to discuss the crisis. EU foreign ministers will meet in Brussels on Thursday to discuss Mali.<\/p>\n

\tRebel forces reportedly pulled out of Gao and Timbuktu, which they occupied in the past year.<\/p>\n

\tThe rebel groups primarily adhere to a strict Wahhabi version of Islam. The majority of Malians are Muslim, but most of these belong to a form of Sufi Islam.<\/p>\n

\tAt least 140,000 refugees from Mali have registered in neighboring countries since April 2012 while an estimated 228,000 have been internally displaced, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees says. The total population is about 15.4 million.<\/p>\n

\tFr. Dembele said that the Catholic Church in the area of Mopti, the largest regional capital closest to the fighting, is trying to help the displaced. The Mali bishops\u2019 conference will hold a meeting next week to decide how to better coordinate Catholic relief efforts.<\/p>\n

\tBoth Islamists and more secular Tuareg fighters seized northern Mali in April 2012 after a military coup.<\/p>\n

\tMany of the Tuareg fighters had fought under Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. After his fall in 2011, many returned to Mali and joined a rebellion against the Mali government. They were sidelined in Mali after Islamists took control of major towns.<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

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Bamako, Mali, Jan 17, 2013 \/ 12:03 am (CNA).- French military invention in Mali has “greatly comforted” the country's people who feared jihadist rebels could expand far into the country’s south, a Catholic Church official has said…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2029","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-middle-east-africa","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nCatholic official says Mali relieved by French intervention<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Bamako, Mali, Jan 17, 2013 \/ 12:03 am (CNA).- French military invention in Mali has “greatly comforted” the country's people who feared jihadist rebels could expand far into the country’s south, a Catholic Church official has said...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, 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