France has increased its troop strength in Mali to 1,400 to help fight militant Islamists in the north, the French defence minister has said, according to BBC News.

France said it launched military action in its former colony last Friday to stop it becoming a "terrorist state" after a rapid advance by the Islamists.

Heavy fighting has been continuing, with French forces bombing Diabaly, 350km (220 miles) north of the capital.

Troops pledged by West African nations have also started arriving in Mali.

Some 100 Togolese soldiers landed in Bamako on Thursday, January 17 with 80 Nigerian troops expected shortly.

In Brussels, the EU foreign ministers agreed to press ahead with sending a team to train the weak Malian army.