Mali PM in Paris for Military Intervention Talks

Mali's Prime Minister Cheick Modibo Diarra arrived in Paris on Monday for talks with senior officials on plans for a military intervention to dislodge Islamists in control of the vast north.

Diarra's office said he would meet Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on Tuesday to discuss "French support for reclaiming regions illegally occupied by terrorists".

It said the visit was part of efforts to "strengthen the mobilization of the international community to accelerate the recovery of our country's territorial integrity."

French Foreign Ministry spokesman Philippe Lalliot said the talks would include discussion of planning for an African-led intervention in the region and efforts to reorganize Mali's military.

Other aspects of the crisis, including a roadmap on a political transition, will also be discussed, he said.

Tuareg rebels and armed Islamists, some with links to al-Qaida, took control of the vast northern region of Mali, once considered one of west Africa's most stable countries, after a March coup in the capital Bamako created a power vacuum there.

France, the former colonial power in Mali, has played a leading role in pushing west African countries into the creation of a military force capable of intervening in the country and reclaiming control of the north.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) resolved earlier this month to deploy 3,300 troops to reclaim the area if peaceful efforts failed to address the crisis.