Malian and French troops seize Gao airport and a key bridge, making significant inroad into the heart of territory held by al -Qaeda linked extremists. There is no word as yet on possible casualties.
Two hours later and we hear that Gao itself has been liberated.
Jean Marc Ayrault says troops are currently around Gao and will soon be near Timbuktu, a fabled caravan town on the edge of the Sahara Desert which for centuries was a key centre of Islamic learning.
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