Mali town Konna 'not recaptured'

French military officials have denied an earlier claim by the Malian army that the central town of Konna has been recaptured by government forces.

France launched its military intervention last Friday after Islamists seized Konna and began advancing further south.
Another central town, Diabal
y, was captured by rebels on Monday.
French and Malian troops were reportedly heading towards the town in preparation for a ground offensive.
In March and April last year, Islamist and secular Tuareg rebels overran the main population centres in northern Mali. Soon the Islamists, some with links to al-Qaeda, took control and imposed a hardline form of Sharia.
While a West African force was being planned with the aim of bringing the north back under the control of the Malian government, the rebels began moving further south.

It was the rebel capture of the strategically important town of Konna last Thursday that prompted France's military intervention.

French warplanes began air strikes against Islamist fighters the next day, and by Saturday a Malian military official said the army had brought Konna back under control, and 100 rebel fighters had been killed.
But French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told reporters in Paris on Tuesday that the town was not in government hands.
The French aerial campaign had managed to block the rebels who had moved back to an area between Douentza and Gao.
But, he said, "at this time, the town of Konna has still not been recaptured by the Malian armed forces".
BBC Paris correspondent Hugh Schofield says the significance is unclear, but it suggests that the Malian army on the ground does not have the capacity to take advantage of the air support offered by the French.