SEGOU/BAMAKO, Mali - French-backed government forces advanced into northern Mali on Friday towards the Islamist rebel stronghold of Gao, recapturing the town of Hombori, as they followed up on relentless French air strikes against the rebels. Two weeks after France sent troops and aircraft into its West African former colony to block an offensive south by al Qaeda-allied Islamists occupying the north, Mali's army was now on the move as Islamist fighters pulled back from towns. Malian officials, who said an offensive against Gao could take place in the next few days, said government forces entered Hombori, about 160 km (100 miles) from Gao, late on Thursday. Gao, with the other Saharan desert towns of Timbuktu and Kidal, has been occupied since last year by an Islamist alliance that includes AQIM, the North African franchise of al Qaeda. "Our troops supported by French forces entered Hombori yesterday evening without any combat. The Islamists had already deserted the town," a Malian military officer, who asked not to be named, told Reuters. Mali's national radio said Hombori's inhabitants turned out to cheer the government soldiers as they entered. Malian officials said French air raids on Thursday hit rebel positions at Ansongo, 95 km (60 miles) south of Gao. This is on the road to neighboring Niger, where Nigerien and Chadian forces are poised to join the fight against the Islamists. But in a sign the Islamist rebels could offer resistance, a Malian officer and residents living in the area south of Gao reported they had blown up a bridge at Tassiga, south of Ansongo on the main road that follows the Niger River down to Niger.
