Fighters from one of the al-Qaida-linked rebel groups controlling northern Mali on Friday attacked a position held by a secular rebel group, in the first clash between the two sides since the Islamists seized the territory in June, according to local officials and a rebel spokesman.

President François Hollande has categorically ruled out a French military intervention in Mali on Tuesday. France will not intervene "under any pretext" in the north of the country, currently under the control of Islamist militias.

Leaders of the Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) on Sunday authorized the deployment of an African-led international force to flush out rebel groups from northern Mali in order to restore security in the West African country, a statement by the regional bloc said on Monday

West African nations agreed on Sunday to deploy 3,300 troops to help recapture northern Mali, which was seized by Islamist extremists more than six months ago, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said.

West African foreign and defense ministers have met in Nigeria to set out a military plan to help the Malian government battle with the militants controlling the northern part of the country, Press TV reports.

The African Union (AU) says it needs a 3,200-strong military force to help the Malian government fight rebels controlling the northern part of the crisis-hit West African country.

African Union officials are discussing the logistics for the deployment of an African-led international force against Islamist militants in Mali.

Malians have staged a demonstration in the capital Bamako to protest against a UN Security Council resolution on a possible military intervention in the country.

Addis Ababa — The African Union Commission Chairperson, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma is in Mali for a meeting aimed at resolving the Malian crisis.

French Defense Minister says an African intervention in its former colony Mali is a matter of weeks, not months following Paris’ persistent lobbying for the initiative.

The planned west African intervention force in Mali is not expected to be there before the end of the year, despite the UN Security Council passing a French resolution calling for a plan to set it up.

Sevaré — Children as young as 14 are joining military training camps run by militias in southern Mali preparing to fight Islamist groups in the north. At the same time, Islamist groups in the north are recruiting children as young as 11 to man checkpoints, gather intelligence, search vehicles and patrol the streets in Gao, Timbuktu and Kidal, according to aid agencies and human rights groups.

Members of the Ansar Dine extremist group have destroyed another shrine of a Sufi Muslim saint in a northern Mali region under their control, witnesses say.

DIABALY, Mali (AP) — It was dusk when the aging Toyota pickup truck pulled into the first military checkpoint, loaded with at least 17 bearded men fingering prayer beads.

West African defense and foreign ministers have held a meeting in the Ivoirian capital, Abdijan, to discuss the possible deployment of regional troops to northern Mali.

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) — The president of the West African bloc of nations says it "can no longer hesitate" to combat terrorism and criminality in northern Mali, which was overrun by Extremists.

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ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) — The military chiefs of 15 West Africa nations have begun deliberations to "finalize a roadmap" for an armed intervention in Mali, whose northern half is occupied by al-Qaida.

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NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania (AP) — Relatives of some of the 16 preachers from a moderate Muslim sect who were allegedly killed by Malian soldiers in a "barbaric massacre" went to the presidential palace in Mauritania's capital Monday to find out why the men were gunned down.

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BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Sixteen Muslim preachers from a moderate sect were shot dead in central Mali as they traveled by road to a religious conference, the Malian and Mauritanian governments said Sunday. Early reports indicate that the men's long beards aroused the suspicion of Mali's military, which confused them for the extremists who have taken over the nation's north.

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BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Sources report that 16 Mauritanian and Malian Islamic preachers were shot dead by the Malian army in Diabaly, 430 kilometers (267 miles) north of Bamako, when they were traveling to a conference in Bamako.