Mali Islamists Hunted Down In Gao City

{{Residents in Mali’s newly liberated city of Gao hunted down and beat suspected Islamist extremists who had not fled with their brothers-in-arms as Malian and French military forces closed in and retook the town.}}

Malian troops bundled the men into an army truck Tuesday, their hands bound behind their backs. For the better part of a year, the al-Qaida-linked extremists had banned music, insisted women cover themselves and began carrying out public executions and amputations in the towns of northern Mali that they controlled.

Now the Islamists’ control of the cities has slipped, with the provincial capitals of Gao and Timbuktu coming back under government authority in quick succession with the arrival of French and Malian troops.

They also may have lost control of a third key city, Kidal.

France, the former colonial ruler, began sending in troops, helicopters and warplanes on Jan. 11 to turn the tide after the armed Islamists began encroaching on the south, toward the capital.

French and Malian troops seized Gao during the weekend, welcomed by joyous crowds.

They took Timbuktu on Monday. The Islamists gave up both cities and retreated into the desert.

{Agencies}