A couple weeks ago, jihadis attacked south in the Mopti region. The French rapidly announced they would intervene. A week ago, about a hundred jihadis captured the Mali town of Diabaly. The French responded with air strikes and a cautiously pushed forward troops (I assume special forces to scout the approach and figure out where the jihadis were). A couple days ago, the jihadis abandoned the town. And now the French led a two-company force into the town along with Mali forces.
I assume it is a two-company force since the last I read, the French were dispatching two companies of their marines to Mali, and the marines are said to be in the advance:
About 200 French infantrymen supported by six combat helicopters and reconnaissance planes advanced Monday on the town of Diabaly, seized one week ago by Islamic extremists including fighters under the command of the mastermind of Algeria's recent terror attack.
Diabaly, a small bucolic town in central Mali, has been the scene of the first major battle in the war to retake northern Mali from bearded fighters who have occupied the region for nine months.
"The operation in Diabaly is currently ongoing," said Capt. Romain, the deputy in charge of France's 21st Marine Infantry regiment, positioned in the town of Markala about 85 miles (140 kilometers) from the front line.
The first major battle of the war? One hundred jihadis and 200 French troops who never actually traded shots? (I think the French special forces that preceded this advance exchanged fire with the jihadis.) Over the course of about a week? This little bitty thing is a major battle?
Clearly, the objective of France is to avoid a loss by letting the jihadis blitz their way through the still-shaky Mali army and take over all of Mali. If the French can restore the situation to what it was before that jihadi attack south that took Diabaly and threatened Mopti, they can pull back and continue the plan.
The jihadi attack south and their attack on an Algerian gas plant show that the jihadis aren't willing to go along with the plan and patiently await their doom in autumn 2013. France wants a sitzkrieg, but I don't think al Qaeda will cooperate.
UPDATE: Huh. In addition to retaking Diabaly, the French have apparently led an advance to the northeast of Mopti to capture the town of Douentza, which is on the road to jihad central in Gao:
French and Malian armored columns rolled into the towns of Diabaly and Douentza in central Mali on Monday after the al Qaeda-linked rebels who had seized them melted into the bush to avoid air strikes.
Is this just an added defensive position to shield Mopti for the autumn offensive or an indication that my assumption that France won't accelerate and lead the advance north is wrong?
