French-led troops have conducted house-to-house searches for local fighters in Mali’s northern city of Gao after they seized the strategic city.

Reports say that some of the fighters hid among the population after French and Malian forces took control of the city on Monday.

Earlier in the day, a strong explosion took place near a military checkpoint in the north of the city.

On Sunday, heavy clashes were reported in the center of the city near an empty police station, where the fighters had used as a base last month. Gao was also the target of bomb attacks on Friday and Saturday.


France launched its war on Mali on January 11 under the pretext of halting the advance of the fighters in the country. The war has left thousands of Malians homeless.

On February 1, Amnesty International condemned “serious human rights breaches” including the killing of children in the French war in Mali.

The rights organization said there was “evidence that at least five civilians, including three children, were killed in an airstrike” carried out by French forces against local fighters.

Analysts believe behind the military campaign in Mali are the country’s untapped resources of oil, gold, and uranium.