Mali: French airstrikes pound rebel enclaves

(Vatican Radio) French troops launched airstrikes on Islamic militant sites around Kidal and Tessalit in Mali's far north, just a few hours after a triumphant visit by France's president. Listen:

French planes pounded extremist training camps as well as arms and fuel depots from Saturday night into the early hours of Sunday. The continued attacks also came hours after French President Francois Hollande left Mali.

Speaking in the capital Bamako, the French President pledged to help rebuild Mali after the rebels who seized its north are beaten. But there are fears the fighters could re-group in the mountains near Kidal.

Although French troops captured Kidal's airport on Wednesday, rebels from a Tuareg group who want their own homeland in northern Mali - the MNLA - still have control of the town itself.

The MNLA seized north Mali in April, before being pushed aside by a better-armed Islamist alliance composed of al Qaeda's north African wing.

The Malian Interim President has offered to hold talks with the MNLA in order to help secure Kidal. Reports have also emerged that a senior figure in the main militant Islamist movement - Ansar Dine - has been captured near the Algerian border by a rival separatist group.

Meanwhile, Nearly 2,000 army personnel from Chad and Niger are already helping consolidate the recent gains. A further 6,000 troops will be deployed as part of the UN-backed African-led International Support Mission to Mali (Afisma).