65 rebel fighters killed in Mali

Sixty-five rebel fighters and thirteen Chadian soldiers were killed on Friday in the Adrar des Ifoghas Mountains near the Algerian border, Chadian military sources said on Saturday, Reuters reported.
 
A senior Chadian military official said the casualties occurred around a rebel base that appeared to be of "significant importance."
 
"These battles will continue," French President Francois Hollande said later in the day. "It is the last phase because it is most likely that AQIM's (Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb) forces are hiding there (in the Adrar area)."
 
The French-led war in Mali has caused a serious humanitarian crisis in northern areas of the country and has displaced thousands of people, who now live in deplorable conditions.
 
The people of northern Mali say the French war and the ruling junta are blocking the flow of humanitarian assistance to the war-affected areas.
 
    The northern Malians say the blockade of the area by French and Malian troops has undermined the activities of healthcare workers in several refugee camps. Most of the camps have dire shortages of necessities such as food and medicine. 
 
 
On January 11, France launched a war in Mali under the pretext of halting the advance of fighters who had taken control of the north of the West African country. The United States, Canada, Britain, Belgium, Germany, and Denmark have voiced support for the move.
 
On February 1, Amnesty International said “serious human rights breaches” -- including the killing of children -- were occurring in the French war in Mali.