Francois Hollande

French soldiers lower flag after years in Mali’s Timbuktu

French soldiers lower flag after years in Mali’s Timbuktu

  • The French were greeted as liberators when they entered Timbuktu in 2013 — PM Francois Hollande described the day French soldiers retook the city as ‘the best day of his political life’
  • Paris has said it remains militarily committed to Mali, and that it plans to refocus its energies on strengthening an international task force of special forces, known as Takuba
By AFP ·