France to withdraw troops in Mali end of next month

The President of France Francois Hollande said on Friday that his country will begin pulling out its military troops from Mali by the end of next month. Hollande said, in an interview with Channel France 2, the French military intervention in Mali has successfully accomplished its missions in securing the country from threatening rebel groups, except for the release of the 15 French nationals who are being held captive in Africa. "By July, only 2,000 soldiers will remain in Mali. This number will be down-sized to 1,000 soldiers by the end of 2013," the French President continued. Hollande stressed that his country will firmly push for elections in Mali by July and emphasized that holding a national dialogue will be pivotal to bringing Mali together. He also confirmed that his country will seek the release of the French hostages who were kidnapped on the 19th February in Cameroon and are still alive. On the Syrian front, meanwhile, Hollande said "Paris will not send any weapons to the Syrian opposition fighters until it has a tangible proof that these weapons will not fall in the hands of any terrorist group."