France's President
Francois Hollande is to visit Mali, where three weeks of targeted French
air strikes have forced Islamist militants to retreat.
Mr Hollande will fly into Bamako to meet interim President Dioncounda Traore, his office says. He is set to visit Timbuktu, recently seized from Islamist rebels by French and Malian troops, on Saturday. Mr Hollande will be joined on his trip by Foreign Minister Lauren Fabius, Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and Development Minister Pascal Canin.
