“People often ask how long this will last. I reply, the time it takes. The time it takes to vanquish terrorism in this area,” Hollande said on Saturday.
Earlier on Saturday, Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said that the number of its boots on the ground in Mali reached 2,000, while a further 900 French soldiers were supporting the military operation from bases outside the African nation.
Le Drian also said that the number of troops would exceed 2,500 as the country had earlier promised. He added that , “around 4,000 troops will be mobilized for this operation” in Mali and outside bases.
Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said at a meeting in the Ivory Coast capital, Abidjan, on Saturday that it was time for the African nations to take over the military operation in Mali.
France intervened in Mali on January 11 by launching an air offensive under the pretext of halting the advance of militants controlling the northern parts of Mali.
Chaos broke out in the African country after Malian President Amadou Toumani Toure was toppled in a military coup on March 22, 2012. The coup leaders said the move was in response to the government’s inability to contain the Tuareg rebellion in the north of the country.