French troops launched their first ground assault against Islamist rebels in Mali on January 16 in a broadening of their operation against battle-hardened al Qaeda-linked fighters who have resisted six days of air strikes. France has called for international support against the Islamist insurgents it says pose a threat to Africa and the West, acknowledging it faces a long fight against the well-equipped fighters who seized Mali's vast desert north...
12:33 PM, Jan 17, 2013
