France said it launched military action in its former colony last Friday to stop it becoming a "terrorist state" after a rapid advance by the Islamists.

 

Heavy fighting has been continuing, with French forces bombing Diabaly, 350km north of the capital.

 

Troops pledged by West African nations have also started arriving in Mali.

 

Some 100 Togolese soldiers landed in Bamako on Thursday, with 80 Nigerian troops expected shortly.

 

In Brussels, the EU foreign ministers agreed to press ahead with sending a team to train the weak Malian army.

 

"The actions of French forces, be it air forces or ground forces, are ongoing," France's Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Thursday. 

 

"They took place yesterday, they took place last night, they took place today, they will take place tomorrow."

 

On Wednesday, French and Malian sources said their forces launched the first major ground operation against the militants², with street battles taking place in Diabaly.

 

But Diabaly's mayor, Oumar Diakite, told the BBC from Bamako only Malian troops were involved in the battle. Both sides suffered casualties, he said. 

 

"The Islamists were burying their dead next to our cemetery³ in Diabaly. There were also three bodies of Malian soldiers lying on the side of the road," Mr Diakite added.

 

"The residents wanted to take the bodies and bury them, but they [the militants] would not let us."

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