Thousands of African troops are preparing to join the fight against Islamist rebels in Mali, as France said it wanted African forces to take over the offensive as quickly as possible.
Some 600 soldiers from Nigeria are expect to arrive before next week, with Burkina Faso, Ghana, Niger, Senegal and Togo sending 500 troops each in the coming days.
Gerard Araud, France's UN ambassador, said
France wanted to let an African force take the lead in the battle against the extremists "as quickly as possible."
The UN Security Council passed Resolution 2085 in December authorising a 3,300-strong African force to help Mali's army reconquer the north. It also called for political efforts to end the crisis.
"Our goal is to go back to implementation of Resolution 2085 as quickly as possible so that the African forces and the Malian forces take care of the problem and that there is a political agreement," Mr Araud told reporters. He did not give a deadline for the end of the operation.
As France pursued a fourth day of airstrikes against Al-Qaeda-linked forces, the UN said at least 30,000 people have fled the conflict zone and the militants were stopping people crossing into government territory.
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