Malian army retakes central town from Islamists

BAMAKO (Reuters) - Mali's armed forces retook the central town of Konna from Islamist rebels with French military support on Friday, a Malian defense ministry official and residents said.

 

"The Malian army has retaken Konna with the help of our military partners. We are there now," Lieutenant Colonel Diaran Kone told Reuters.

A local shopkeeper confirmed that the army had entered the town, which had been seized on Thursday by the al Qaeda-linked insurgents who control Mali's desert north.