This picture released by the French Army Communications Audiovisual office (ECPAD) shows French Mirage 2000 D aircraft flying to N'Djamena overnight January 11 to 12, after taking off from the French military base of Nancy.
French military pass the town of Konobougou on their way to Segou, Mali January 17, 2013. REUTERS/Joe Penney
Protesters argue with Egyptian security guards during a protest against the French operation in Mali outside the French embassy in Cairo January 18, 2013. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem
A Malian soldier stands guard as Mali's President Dioncounda Traore visits French troops at an air base in Bamako, Mali January 16, 2013. REUTERS/Joe Penney
French helicopters arrive at an air base in Bamako, Mali January 16, 2013. French troops launched their first ground assault against Islamist rebels in Mali on Wednesday in a broadening of their operation against battle-hardened al Qaeda-linked fighters who have resisted six days of air strikes. REUTERS/Joe Penney
Protesters argue with Egyptian security guards during a protest against the French operation in Mali outside the French embassy in Cairo January 18, 2013. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST)
French helicopters arrive at an air base in Bamako, Mali January 16, 2013. French troops launched their first ground assault against Islamist rebels in Mali on Wednesday in a broadening of their operation against battle-hardened al Qaeda-linked fighters who have resisted six days of air strikes. REUTERS/Joe Penney (MALI - Tags: MILITARY POLITICS CONFLICT TRANSPORT)
Malian soldiers stand guard as Mali's President Dioncounda Traore speaks to French troops at an air base in Bamako, Mali January 16, 2013. REUTERS/Joe Penney
French troops in two armored personnel carriers drive through Mali's capital Bamako on the road to Mopti Tuesday Jan. 15, 2013. French forces led an all-night aerial bombing campaign Tuesday to wrest control of a small Malian town from armed Islamist extremists who seized the area, including its strategic military camp. A a convoy of 40 to 50 trucks carrying French troops crossed into Mali from Ivory Coast as France prepares for a possible land assault. Several thousand soldiers from the nations neighboring Mali are also expected to begin arriving in coming days. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
In this Jan. 15, 2013 file photo, French troops in two armored personnel carriers drive through Mali's capital Bamako on the road to Mopti. The Obama administration has declared it cannot accept new terrorist sanctuaries in Mali or anywhere else and has promised to support French and African efforts to restore security. Yet after almost a year of disorder in the West African nation, Washington is still keeping the conflict at arm’s length. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File)
In this picture dated Sunday, Jan. 13, 2013 and released by the French Army Communications Audiovisual office (ECPAD) shows French legionnaires of the 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment based in Orange, southern France, exiting a military plane at Bamako airport, Mali. An official at France's Defense Ministry says the country will "gradually deploy" a total of 2,500 troops to Mali, and the French president says the military operation will last until security has been restored and African forces are ready to take charge. (AP Photo/Jeremy Lempin, ECPAD)
In this picture dated Sunday, Jan. 13, 2013 and released by the French Army Communications Audiovisual office (ECPAD) a French soldier of the 2nd Marine Infantry Regiment based in Le Mans, western France, distributes smoke grenades at Bamako airport, Mali. An official at France's Defense Ministry says the country will "gradually deploy" a total of 2,500 troops to Mali, and the French president says the military operation will last until security has been restored and African forces are ready to take charge. (AP Photo/Arnaud Roine, ECPAD)
In this picture dated Sunday, Jan. 13, 2013 and released by the French Army Communications Audiovisual office (ECPAD), a French soldier of the 2nd Marine Infantry Regiment based in Le Mans, western France, prepares ammunition before distribution at Bamako airport, Mali. An official at France's Defense Ministry says the country will "gradually deploy" a total of 2,500 troops to Mali, and the French president says the military operation will last until security has been restored and African forces are ready to take charge. (AP Photo/Arnaud Roine, ECPAD)
Members of the Royal Air Force Air Movement Services push a pallet loaded with French Army rations off a C17 cargo aircraft after delivering it to Bamako, Mali, January 16, 2013. The Royal Air Force is lending logistical support to France as it sends forces to Mali. Help from NATO allies including Britain, the United States, Germany, Belgium, Canada and Denmark means the first African troops should start arriving in Mali within days and a 3,000-strong ECOWAS contingent could gather in the next few weeks. French ground troops and Malian army forces encircled Islamist fighters in the central Malian town of Diabaly on Wednesday, military sources said, as France prepared to launch its first ground assault on the rebels. REUTERS/Andrew Winning
Malian soldiers helped by French troops, move a broken helicopter out a hangar to make room for more incoming troops at Bamako's airport Tuesday Jan. 15. 2013. French forces led an all-night aerial bombing campaign Tuesday to wrest control of a small Malian town from armed Islamist extremists who seized the area, including its strategic military camp. A a convoy of 40 to 50 trucks carrying French troops crossed into Mali from Ivory Coast as France prepares for a possible land assault. Several thousand soldiers from the nations neighboring Mali are also expected to begin arriving in coming days. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
French troops gather in a hangar at Bamako's airport Tuesday 15 Jan. 2013. French forces led an all-night aerial bombing campaign Tuesday to wrest control of a small Malian town from armed Islamist extremists who seized the area, including its strategic military camp. A a convoy of 40 to 50 trucks carrying French troops crossed into Mali from Ivory Coast as France prepares for a possible land assault. Several thousand soldiers from the nations neighboring Mali are also expected to begin arriving in coming days. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
French soldiers refuel Armoured Personnel Carriers that were driven from Ivory Coast, at a Malian air base in Bamako January 15, 2013. The French army sent some 50 armoured vehicles to Mali from their military base in Ivory Coast, which arrived late Monday night. France hit Islamist rebels in Mali with fresh air strikes and deployed armoured cars on Tuesday, stepping up its intervention in the West African state as regional allies struggled to accelerate their plans to send in troops. REUTERS/Joe Penney
This Sunday Jan.13, 2013 photo provided by the French Army Monday Jan.14, 2013 shows a French Rafale jetfighter landing after a mission to Mali in N'Djamena, Chad. French fighter jets bombed rebel targets in a major city in Mali's north Sunday, pounding the airport as well as training camps, warehouses and buildings used by the al-Qaida-linked Islamists controlling the area, officials and residents said. (AP Photo/Adj Nicolas-Nelson Richard, ECPAD)
This Sunday Jan.13, 2013 photo provided by the French Army Monday Jan.14, 2013 shows a pilot exiting a jetfighter after a mission to Mali in N'Djamena, Chad. French fighter jets bombed rebel targets in a major city in Mali's north Sunday, pounding the airport as well as training camps, warehouses and buildings used by the al-Qaida-linked Islamists controlling the area, officials and residents said. (AP Photo/Adj Nicolas-Nelson Richard, ECPAD)
This photo released by the French Army Communications Audiovisual office (ECPAD) on January 12, 2013 shows the arming of a French Mirage 2000D fighter plane in N'Djamena, Chad. French forces carried out a second day of air strikes against Islamist rebels in Mali on Saturday and sent troops to protect the capital Bamako in an operation involving several hundred soldiers, Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said
This picture released by the French Army Communications Audiovisual office (ECPAD) shows a French Mirage 2000 D aircraft refueling while flying to N'Djamena overnight January 11 to 12,
This picture released by the French Army Communications Audiovisual office (ECPAD) shows French Mirage 2000 D aircraft flying to N'Djamena overnight January 11 to 12, after taking off from the French military base of Nancy.
