Mali secures retaken towns

French-backed Malian troops searched house-to-house in Gao and Timbuktu on Tuesday uncovering arms and explosives abandoned by Islamist fighters, and France said it would look to hand over longer-term security operations in Mali to an African force.

French and Malian troops retook the two Saharan trading towns of Timbuktu and Gao at the weekend virtually unopposed. (Reuters)