French defense minister pays surprise visit to MaliMarch 7, 2013 - 15:41 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - France's defense minister, on a surprise visit to Mali Thursday, March 7 praised the courage of soldiers driving back militants, while experts worked to identify jihadist leaders killed in battle, according to The Associated Press. French troops launched a military operation in January to drive back the extremists marching on Mali's capital. They quickly liberated a series of cities in central Mali and are now engaged in intense battles in an area near the Algerian border that the militants hoped to make their refuge. Jean-Yves Le Drian arrived Thursday in Tessalit, which is near the fighting in the Ifoghas mountain range. He paid his respects to the four soldiers killed in Mali so far, including one who died Wednesday. "In dislodging the jihadists from their last bastions, you are the spearhead of this relentless war," Le Drian told troops. He also visited the Amettetai Valley, where a French soldier was killed last week. The operation has largely been hailed a success so far, although there are some concerns the militants will simply regroup once the French start drawing down troops in April. In recent days, Chad, which is fighting alongside France, has claimed that two major militant leaders are dead: Abou Zeid, head of one of the most violent brigades of al-Qaida's North African franchise, and al-Qaida-linked Moktar Belmoktar. That would mark a major win in the war, but France is being cautious and hasn't confirmed the identity of the dead, although one official said Abou Zeid is likely one of them. "You have to do stringent verifications with DNA, and that's what the army is in the process of doing," Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life, Strong Mind IDBank and Idram summarize the results of the May program of “The Power of One Dram”. Yerevan State University, Ucom sign Memorandum of Cooperation Rector of Yerevan State University Hovhannes Hovhannisyan and General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian signed the memorandum. EU to provide budgetary support to Armenia The agreement is aimed at increasing the competitiveness of the educational system of Armenia. Aliyev: No peace treaty unless Armenia changes constitution Azerbaijan will not sign a peace treaty with Armenia unless the latter changes its constitution, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said. |