French troops have begun direct ground combat against? fighters belonging to the al-Qaeda linked Ansar al-Dine?group in Mali, Al Jazeera has learned.
Quoting Sanda Ould Boumana, spokesman for Ansar al-Dine, Al Jazeera's Nazanine Moshiri reported from Bamako on?Wednesday that the French?forces had moved 400 km north from the Malian capital and were shelling Diabaly, a town in central Mali.
She quoted Ould Boumana as saying?that "the fighting is happening 2km from the centre of Diabaly, away from the civilians".
"Military sources in the Malian army have told Al Jazeera that French special forces are fighting in the town," she said.
Edouard Guillaud, France's military chief of staff, said that the French ground operations in the West African country?began overnight.
Our correspondent said?the military action?was expected to be "difficult" for France..
"Ansar al-Dine and other armed rebel groups that have control of the area know the terrain very well, and they have very sophisticated weapons," she said, referring to?the rebel-controlled northern part of Mali.
She said the first Nigerian contingent of about 190 soldiers was due to arrive in Mali on Thursday.
The parliament?in Niger?was waiting for approval to?send its own contingent of?more than?500 soldiers, currently waiting at the border, Al Jazeera's Moshiri said.
Diabaly residents who have fled the area told the Associated Press?news agency that Ansar al-Dine fighters had sealed off the roads to the town and?were preventing people from leaving.
They feared that?that the fighters would use the residents of the town as a human shield.
On the diplomatic front, the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) expressed support for the French-led military operation in Mali on Wednesday.?
"[The OIC] has reaffirmed the full support and solidarity with the Republic of Mali in its efforts to expeditiously recover areas in the north of its territory under the control of armed groups in order to restore its national unity and territorial integrity," Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the OIC chief, said.
Ihsanoglu had called on Tuesday?for an "immediate ceasefire" and described the military offensive as "premature".?
Francois Hollande, French president,?authorised air attacks last Friday after?Ansar al-Dine fighters?began progressing towards Bamako from their northern stronghold.
The rebels seized the?region in April 2012 amid the unrest that followed a coup in Bamako.?
Speaking?at a ceremony in Paris to give his New Year greetings to the press on Wednesday, Hollande said that he felt his decision on Friday had been "necessary".
"If it hadn't been taken, it would have been too late. Mali would have been captured entirely, and the terrorists would have been in a position of strength not only in Mali, but also able to put pressure on all countries of West Africa," he said.
Before tripling the number of French troops deployed in Mali to 2,500 from 800 on Tuesday, France had insisted that it would provide only air and logistical support for a miltary intervention.
Thousands of African soldiers from the Economic Community of West African States are due to join the Mali offensive, under a UN-mandated deployment.
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Source: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2013/01/2013116101421991386.html
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