France in ‘direct combat’ in Mali within hours

Young men play football in Bamako, Mali, Tuesday Jan. 15, 2013. French forces led an all-night aerial bombing campaign Tuesday to wrest control of a small Malian town from armed Islamist extremists who seized the area, including its strategic military camp. A a convoy of 40 to 50 trucks carrying French troops crossed into Mali from Ivory Coast as France prepares for a possible land assault. Several thousand soldiers from the nations neighboring Mali are also expected to begin arriving in coming days. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)French troops pressed northward in Mali toward territory occupied by Islamist militants on Wednesday, military officials said, announcing the start of a land assault that will put soldiers in direct combat “within hours.”

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