The Malian army said on Wednesday 63 of its troops and 600 rebels had died since the launch of French-led operations two months ago to take back the north from hardline Islamist groups.
The announcement by the military came as UN leader Ban Ki-Moon said up to 11,200 troops could be needed for a peacekeeping mission in the troubled west African nation.
In a surprise intervention, France sent troops to Mali in January to prevent an advance on the capital Bamako by Al Qaeda-linked fighters who overran northern Mali a year ago, taking advantage of a vacuum left after a coup.
“Since the start of the military offensive launched January 11, 2013 against the Islamists, the death toll is 63 Malian soldiers killed and our opponents have lost about 600 fighters,” army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Souleymane Maiga told AFP.
He said one Togolese and a Burkinabe soldier had also been killed in Operation Serval, which has also claimed the lives of five French troops.
No comments:
Post a Comment