do they want to take control of northern mali? do they just want to secure the government-controlled areas. that is what we're trying to find out. that is the important question that needs to be answered. >> the security camera will be holding a meeting soon to discuss approving a west african troops on the ground. do we have any idea when to expect those troops? >> at the moment, what we are hearing is they will be going to the meeting here on tuesday between the military chiefs to decide if that will happen. there waiting for the united nations security council meeting and the outcome of that. al-jazeera has spoken to a nigerian military commanders told us they have to wait embassy about the logistics. nigeria would send about 600 soldiers into northern mali, but they said, where they going to sleep? he was born to pay for them? until the questions are answered, then we will see the troops on the ground. interestingly, of these troops are not as popular as the french. people here want to see any operation into northern mali led

the toerag people who traditionally came from northern mali they actually made up a large portion of moammar gadhafi as army in libya and also the very brisk military intervention that to topple gadhafi many of these poor exactly what's happened to their native northern mali they took with them a lot of weapons and a lot of gadhafi military often has kind of uncontrollably been flowing into mali now and lots of that but they're just saying that this is a real consequence of what happened in libya. his political reporting there from london on the meantime a parasite that its combat mission against islamist somali won't last long but political writer barry lando believes there's a high chance the french army will get bogged down i think it's also part of the practice traditionally as its colonial past its great past in. degree in west africa and also in asia and the french of sonar program that i mean i think that's very much part of that and also of course there's economic interest there and it turns out that the largest mowing city anywhere is on the outskirts of paris so the immigra

is providing some very limits drones in order to track the movements of the rebels in northern mali and of course it's not just britain and the u.s. now we've heard that a number of other european countries including denmark pledging their support for the french military offensive in the region so it is growing quite quickly and by sunday we've already had hundreds of french military personnel taking part in the operation officials say that french as strikes are targeting rebel forces rebel strongholds and logistical points however human rights groups are already counting a number of civilian casualties with three children dead since friday and of course this is quite a departure from francois loans promise to kind of step away from the very paternalistic ties that fronts used to have with the former african colonies in fact through their differences with nicolas sarkozy he's been just as quick to jump into military military intervention in mali as nicolas sarkozy was jump into a military intervention in libya two years ago so a lot of political experts saying that it could be a way of

french military leaders plan to push toward northern mali. mal sichlt mali is a former french colony. the rebels began advancing south. french officials say the military's actions in mali increased the risk of retaliatory attacks. they raised the dme security alert. it's one notch below the highest level. they have also tightened security around public tpgs and other facilities across france. >>> leaders around the world are now paying full attention to this part of africa, especially following the events in algeria. professor takahashi gave us some insight into why things unfolded the way they did and why we should -- what we should expect moving forward. >> since 1954 to 1962 and during that eight years they lost, algerians lost 1 million casualties and in the 1990s, algeria experienced terrible civil war in which they lost another 100,000 people. so, algerians regard their independence and sovereignty as a very pressure thing and they guard it justly, and they are not inclined to accept any foreign help on the crisis of terrorism. what is

on saturday base seized the most populous city in northern mali. on monday, a force of french and mali troops entered timbuktu. once timbuktu is secured, troops are expected to focus on the last rebel stronghold. there are reports to or read the fighters are already in control of that city -- touraeg. a said they will welcome french to -- french troops but opposed to the malian army because of past abuses. international donors and african leaders have pledged hundreds of millions of dollars for military operations against the militants. the imf and the eu already pledged money to support the beleaguered economy. i jubilation and towns across northern mali. people here know how fragile of their security is. the militants may have vanished for now and the desert, but any sign of weakness and they could return. few relished the prospect of a long guerrilla war. >> let's get the latest live from timbuktu. tom went into timbuktu with the troops and he joins us live. the islamist rebels out of sight but not out of mind? >> exactly. they are believed to b

>> i think france to some extent created mali by putting northern and southern mali together, and it takes france to keep them together. why is the malian army unable to control the north? why did so many of the tuareg and arab officers and soldiers who were leading the malian army in the north, why did so many of them the fact or disappear? -- defect or disappear? there is an issue with the malian army having a difficult time for it until the people of the north feel a little more invested in feel more like citizens in mali, until there is massive development in the north and real democracy as opposed to tokenism and in power in certain individuals and cronyism and corruption, instead of enabling drug smuggling and these kinds of forms of control in the populous and having a few beneficiaries, if they could have a real democracy and include the people in the north, maybe they would not have their arab and tuareg officers defecting and be unable to militarily control the north. the people of the north clearly do not feel all that invested in mali, and not as much as the bamako people

within northern mali. that is to say there are weapons coming from libya, through algeria, down into mali and there is a worry that this could become another afghanistan. >> rose: and for analysis of algeria and mali we turn to max boot, jennifer cook, and peter pham. >> the ramification of what happened in algeria and the strike against the gas installation there and the hostages being taken there really opens this up and internationalizes it with a number of year mean citizens taking u.s. citizens and japanese as well. so the events of this last week, the french incursion, the islamists move south and the taking of the gas installation in algeria really puts a whole dramatic new spin on this and adds momentum to the whole problem. >> rose: we conclude this evening with jeff bridges the actor and bernie glassman, their new book is called "the dude and the zen master" >> well, one day bernie says to me, by the way, you know that in the buddhist circles the dude is considered a zen master. i said what are y

france gains ground in its a campaign to push out islamist extremists from northern mali while additional international support is confirmed from the united states britain and other european countries. and yes we can't barack obama's promise to close the guantanamo bay prison continues to go on with the detention facility having its eleventh anniversary with over one hundred sixty captive still being held without charge. and broadcasting live from our studios in central moscow this is r.t. certainly glad to have you with us now a fierce clashes in belfast between loyalists and nationalist on saturday once again ended in street battles leaving twenty nine policemen injured the outrage was sparked six weeks ago by belfast council's decision to reduce the number of days the union flag flies over the city hall the latest violence broke out after about unionists marching on city hall were attacked by locals in a predominantly catholic area police fired water cannons and plastic bullets to disperse the crowds are. breaking out once again. trying. to crowd. like this becoming all too common othe

mali has displaced hundreds of thousands of people in the last year. many more have left their homes since the french offensive begun. occupation in the military offensive in mali continue to increase and the humanitarian situation in the country dwindled. they now say they rescued two million to deal with the crisis, one bound to get worse as the military offensive gets underway. al jazeera, mali. >> the u.s. has formally recognized somalia's government after 20 years. somali president said made the announcement alongside secretary of state hillary clinton in washington. >> somalia is part of the commission on the community and part of the world. somali and the united states are a model for democracy of the freedom of people, of the development of the human and this model we are going to pursue as the rest of the world. so the relationship was there in the past. it's now there and today i'm here standing in front of you trying to improve that relationship in the context of the coming realities in somalia, in the region and the country to africa. >> th

is providing surveillance drones in order to track the movements of the rebels in northern mali so it is growing quite quickly and officials say that french as strikes are targeting rebel forces rebel strongholds and logistical point however. a number of casualties children dead. and this is what is a purchase from francois alarms promise to kind of step away from the very paternalistic ties that fronts used to have with the former african colonies in fact through their differences with nicolas sarkozy he's been just as quick to jump into military military intervention in mali as nicolas sarkozy was to jump into a military intervention in libya two years ago as well the north of mali has been under the control of the islamic militant groups that have links to al qaida for almost a year now and it's an area the size of france they've imposed a rare law there so a stance of the response to the mali government's request for help in trying to sort of hold back these rebel advances of going further into mali but of course many experts are linking this crisis to sort of the libyan legacy of

from northern mali while additional support is confirmed from the united states britain and other european countries. yes we can't. promise to close guantanamo bay prison continues to go on with the detention facility. with over one hundred sixty captives still being held without trial. certainly glad to have you with us now fierce clashes in belfast between loyalists and nationalists on saturday once again ended in the street battles leaving twenty nine policemen injured the outrage was sparked six weeks ago by belfast council's decision to reduce the number of days the union flag flies over city hall the latest violence broke out after about a thousand unionists marching on city hall were attacked by locals in a predominantly catholic area police fired water cannons and plastic bullets to disperse the crowds. has been at the scene. breaking out. the crowd. becoming. helped by the many. political language it's. so what's the tension here on the straight. recreational rioting that well some people are calling it. you can see the plates at the back that lead just say the back roads of polic

and they came back into northern mali. and that's shortly thereafter within six months of that you saw the government fall, you saw a coup and it's really just within that past year and a half that it has come to the radar within the state department and for the secretary of state. but she was trying to push algeria to get more directly involved in controlling mali. they don't want the u.s. at the forefront of this. they don't want to commit real u.s. military troops nor can they. >> and so what does the hostage taking and killing in algeria, how does this influence choices and actions in mali? >> well, secretary of state hillary clinton said today that they are advising, you know, the u.s. citizens, businesses to really take care in terms of reviewing the security procedures. so you can say that this incident in algeria has now rationed concern about the security interest of americans and werners throughout north africa. that has changed things tremendously. but the u.s. beyond that is trying to review security as well as

northern mali. we have been working to try to upgrade security around northern mali among a number of the countries, algeria is the only one with any real ability to do that. most of these countries do have the capacity to do that. we are now trying to help put together an african force so that african soldiers will be in the front of this fight. the malians asked the french to come in. france is one of our oldest allies. we are trying to provide support to them. but this is going to be a very serious ongoing threat because if you look at the size of northern mali and look at the topography, it's not only desert but caves. sounds reminiscent. we are in for a struggle. it is a necessary struggle, we cannot permit northern mali to being a safe haven. aqm hasn't attacked the united states. before 9/11/2001, we hadn't been attacked on homeland since i guess the war of 1812 and pearl harbor. you can't say because they haven't done something they are not going to do it. this is not only a terrorisind indi

>> french fighter jets push deeper into northern mali, bombing a northern rebel stronghold. >> the defense minister vowed the air strikes will continue until rebel groups no longer threaten mali or europe. coming up, president mubarak's supporters celebrate after a court orders a retrial for the former egyptian president. and then a year after the cruise ship ran aground. thousands take to the streets in parise rallying against gay marriage and adoption. and then teaching blind students ballet. >> hello. french planes have pusher deeper into northern mali. the vast area seized by rebels last year. jets bombed a training camp and airport in a rebel stronghold as more french troops pardon into the capital. brit ape and other european nations have pledged support and the u.s. has promised droughns. here is our report from the capital of mali. what is the latest you have found on the ground there? >> well, french forces have pushed deeper into the rebel territory. but also, an army base that belonged to the malian forces have been taken over by the rebel forces and has been razed to the ground

fighters from some of the armed groups in northern mali. it is an era -- an unjust war in this country. >> these people have been marginalized since independence and france bears and historical responsibility. we encouraged them not to leave the issue in the hands of african countries because they cannot differentiate between terrorists and ordinary people. >> it is loosely allied to the secular movement and want the people of northern mali to have the right of self-determination. >> we are not insisting on one solution. what is important that it be a just and final solution. every five or 10 years, there is a rebellion in the north because mali is a failed state. >> particularly among tourism among arabs, who feel aggrieved for their country. >> we want separation from mali and nothing else. we want nothing short of total independence. >> coming to some sort of agreement with the authorities will take time. they are preparing themselves for a long period been in exile. >> muhammed, it has been interesting listening to the malian president.

. >> translator: the terrorists entered the country from northern mali. they were trying to take the foreign hostages and flee. >> reporter: sellal said the victims were from at least eight countries. government officials from japan, the philippines, britain and the u.s. say workers from their countries were among those killed. an islamist group claimed responsibility for the attack. the group leader, it's reported to be a former member of an organization known as al qaeda in islamic megreb. sellal said the militants started blowing up part of the facilities, so security forces had to move in. >> translator: we can't accept this kind of terrorist act. we attacked the militants with force to protect our people. >> reporter: british prime minister david cameron said, he understood the pressures algerian commanders were under. french president hollande said the response was appropriate. japanese prime minister shinzo abe condemned the attack on civilians. >> translator: this is an unacceptable cowardly act and i severely criticize the terrorists. >> reporter

aqim has established strict islamist law in northern mali and destroyed dozens of aish went movings -- ancient mosques and tombs. the united nations has declared it a culture heritage site. the french president asked the u.s. to help france's military in using manpower and drones. >> question, what's at stake for the u.s. in mali? >> clearly, we and the rest of the world don't really want the al qaeda affiliate to establish its roots there. the government is weak. it's not a democratic government. and so defense secretary leon panetta has said that the u.s. government is willing to assist the french with logistics and intelligence. the drones you mentioned are not -- they would not be armed drones. they would be intelligence gathering drones but the french have taken the lead on n. i think so far the u.s. is standing on the side lienls pretty much -- sidelines pretty much cheering them on because it's an important mission. >> we've sent 55,000 americans there according to-- >> 50 million? >> what is it? 550 americans and they are there not as soldiers but there to help with equipment

in northern mali the residents are celebrating the retreat of the military force. as well as the only bridge leading into the strategic city. in northern myanmar, biters have been forced to retreat to their headquarters after losing a key outpost. the rebels are coming under attack from government helicopters, and they are accusing the government of using chemical weapons in the area. >> up to this day there have been only a few occasions where the use this. it is a serious site. as well for the population. like last year, they called it yellow rain. this especially affected the children. >> military helicopters are rushing to rescue torrential rain and flooding across the south. 36 people have been killed and 70,000 displaced. we have reports from some of the worst hit areas. >> they had been working for hours, but the water quickly runs out. >> a few minutes away, she calls to say she does not know how she will pay for the damage done to her house. >> look at this. >> the government kept saying that we would be all right. then we woke up at 3:00 in the morning an

a french air strike against vehicles in northern mali. the french mission is proving successful so far but it is what is going on behind the front lines that is triggering alarm. the government soldiers have been accused today of going on a rampage against civilians. we found this body on the front lines, an islamist fighter, one of dozens of locals allegedly killed by their own army. >> there is evidence of killing, rape against civilians. the fear is that as the french clear the way, the army which is thirsty for revenge will commit crimes against other people because of the color of their skin and they have been allied to the enemies. >> rare footage of the rebels that seized timbuktu. many are lighter skinned tribesmen. there are fears of an ethnic bloodbath if and when the ancient city is recaptured. an army hospital, this has been a key meeting year for the soldiers defeated by the islamist militants. they all terrorists, the sergeant tells me. now, we will win. it is that a victory depends on this outside military help. the british

we also spoke to a fighter from a tribe who lives in northern mali. you saw him here this summer. he said the fighting in some towns in northern mali has been fierce over the weekend and he said something important for american policymakers to consider. his friends who are not islamists are being paid by omar, the man you saw a moment ago, paid to fight, and they're taking that money and fighting against the french. the united states has already tried to help mali. united states trained malian army commanders, some of whom defected to fight with the islamists. so if the united states becomes more involved in the war, will islamists threaten the united states directly? >> i think we're all well aware of the requirement to be vigilant about our own security, including in the homeland, but that's why it's so important to get this operation done and get it done right. >> "outfront" tonight, the defense department's former africa counterterrorism director, jeff porter, he has briefed the fbi on the situation, and chris lawrence. our pentagon correspondent. chris, let me start with you.

it is nine months since the group of rebel groups took northern mali, some with links to out-of. this is the heaviest fighting since nine months ago. they are pushing forward, and it is reported they have taken some 50,000 people, and that is moving to the center, causing deep concern among the security council. they had already had plans. they already authorized 30,000 african soldiers who are going to northern mali to try to sort out the situation. the first to you in planning team is due in the next two weeks or so. -- of first un planning team is due in the next two weeks or so. they will not be able to do anything until september because of the time it will take to get running and the extreme heat. they will not be able to fight until september, and that is where the security council faces a problem. there is little they can do other than issue a condemnation of the latest fighting and urged the group to withdraw to former positions. >> thanks, james fighters in the central african republic say they will observe a week-long ceasefire as peace talks continue. the president is

islamic militants seized control of a vast desert area in northern mali nine months ago. since then they have been posed an extreme form is 4r578ic sharia law public amptation an beatings are commonplace. mali's music, an important part of the country's culture has been silenced. the militants have banned the annual music festival in timbuktu. national security analyst juan zarate. >> what you have in mali is a safe haven for al qaeda an aggressive terrorist group, an organization and one that presents a threat to the stability of mali and the region. that explains why the french have decided to intervene now. >> reporter: france's decision to intervene is not without risk. its french government upped its terror alert at home and reb ems have already threatened to attack french citizens. charlie d'agata, cbs news london. >> jeff: syrian warplanes stepped up their attacks in damascus suburbs today. activists sources say air strikes have killed at least 26 people, half of them children. those attempting to flee the civil war are facing very bad conditions in many refugee ca