Malian forces have arrested eight suspected al-Qaeda-linked fighters in northern Mali.
Their capture comes as French fighter jets targeted rebel hideouts and fuel depots in the northeastern desert on Tuesday, near the Algerian border.
The eight suspects captured in Gao are expected to be transferred to Bamako where they will eventually stand trial. They include six Malians, a Nigerian and an Algerian man. Meanwhile, delegations from the African Union, United Nations, European Union, West African regional body ECOWAS, banks and aid groups have been meeting in Brussels on Tuesday to discuss the country’s future. After a three-week military campaign by French-led forces drove the rebels from most of their strongholds, including the cities of Timbuktu and Gao, dozens of French warplanes on Sunday carried out major air strikes on rebel training and logistics centres in Mali’s mountainous northeast, near the Algerian border.
