Ansar Dine pushes Tuaregs into Mali desert

BAMAKO, Mali: Militants who control northern Mali said they pushed the Tuareg rebels out of the town of Lere, in the northwest of the country near Mauritania.
The spokesman of the rebel group Ansar Dine, Sanda Abu Mohammed, said yesterday that the group now controls Lere, which is 60 kilometers (37 miles) from the border with Mauritania.
The Tuaregs’ spokesman, Mohamed Ag Attaye, confirmed that they retreated to a base north of Lere.
The Ansar militants have pushed the secular Tuaregs out of all of northern Mali’s main towns.
By taking Lere, the Ansar militants now control the main towns bordering Mauritania and Niger. However, the Tuaregs said it is not important if they lose the towns because they can operate effectively in the desert areas.