PARIS
French Minister of Defense Jean-Yves Le Drian on Wednesday said, "We knew the military mission to be difficult in Mali from the very beginning" in regards to the hardening conditions while proceeding to the northern region of Mali.
"The French troops on duty in Mali have worked to protect the civilians in the capital including French and EU citizens until this day. The troops started moving up north" said Le Drian to the RTL radio.
The French Minister stated that they were intensifying air attacks on rebel camps to ease the work of the land forces.
Stating that the situation in Mali was more favorable compared to the previous week, Le Drian said that the conflict would go on for a while.
France has 800 soldiers in Mali at the moment and aims to increase this number to 2500 gradually.
