French-backed Malian troops reclaim key town

The Malian army backed by French troops yesterday wrested a key central town from Islamist rebels, as the UN warned up to a million people could be driven from their homes by fighting in coming months.
As a dramatic hostage siege unfolded in neighbouring Algeria -- where Islamists took hundreds captive in a gas field to retaliate for the week-old military intervention in Mali, sparking a deadly commando raid -- fighting has continued unabated on the ground in Mali.
French and Malian troops marked a victory over the rebels after days of fighting in Konna, a key town about 700 kilometres from the capital Bamako.
"We have wrested total control of Konna after inflicting heavy losses on the enemy," the Malian army said in a brief statement.
A security source said Malian soldiers were backed by French air strikes to ease their entry into the town.
The UN refugee agency warned fighting in the next few months could displace another 700,000 people, adding to some 350,000 already forced to flee their homes -- taking the overall number of displaced over the million mark.
Islamist rebel groups who have controlled northern Mali since April pushed south into government-held territory and seized Konna on January 10, spurring former colonial ruler France to launch a military campaign to halt their advance.
Paris says it already has 1,400 soldiers in Mali, set to increase to 2,500 troops, while regional powers have pledged some 5,800 troops for an African military force.
The crisis in Mali began when Tuareg separatists -- boosted by weapons secured in Libya -- took up arms for independence of the north last January, overwhelming the country's under-equipped army.
In March angry soldiers overthrew the government in Bamako, and the rebel juggernaut, now joined by Islamic hardliners, toppled the north within days.
The Malian conflict was unfolding in parallel to a fast-moving hostage crisis in Algeria, where Islamists were still holding an undetermined number of foreign hostages at a remote gas field Friday, as criticism mounted of Algiers' decision to launch a deadly rescue bid at the site.