Paris: French and Malian forces moving into far eastern Mali clashed with jihadist fighters in a spontaneous gunbattle on Wednesday, leaving a French soldier and about 10 insurgents dead, a French military spokesman said.
The skirmish about 100 kilometers (60 miles) east of Gao, northeast Mali's largest town, marked the latest bloodshed since French forces swooped into the West African nation in January to help its embattled government root out extremist fighters. Mali's regional allies have since contributed hundreds of troops in a support role.
Col. Thierry Burkhard, a French military spokesman, said the battle came as a military patrol involving troops from France, Mali, and Niger was extending into a previously uncontrolled territory. Four Malian soldiers were also injured.
With Wednesday's death of the soldier from an artillery regiment, France has now lost four soldiers since its military operation began Jan. 11. The goal of the intervention has been to help Mali's weak government take back the country's vast north from al-Qaida-backed fighters who had seized power and imposed harsh Islamic rule for 10 months.
The most intense and almost daily fighting over the last two weeks has been to the north of Wednesday's firefight - in the rocky and sandy Adrar des Ifoghas range along the Algerian border. French officials say the area is a crucial base and operations center of Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb.
The skirmish about 100 kilometers (60 miles) east of Gao, northeast Mali's largest town, marked the latest bloodshed since French forces swooped into the West African nation in January to help its embattled government root out extremist fighters. Mali's regional allies have since contributed hundreds of troops in a support role.
Col. Thierry Burkhard, a French military spokesman, said the battle came as a military patrol involving troops from France, Mali, and Niger was extending into a previously uncontrolled territory. Four Malian soldiers were also injured.
With Wednesday's death of the soldier from an artillery regiment, France has now lost four soldiers since its military operation began Jan. 11. The goal of the intervention has been to help Mali's weak government take back the country's vast north from al-Qaida-backed fighters who had seized power and imposed harsh Islamic rule for 10 months.
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The most intense and almost daily fighting over the last two weeks has been to the north of Wednesday's firefight - in the rocky and sandy Adrar des Ifoghas range along the Algerian border. French officials say the area is a crucial base and operations center of Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb.
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