Four U.S. Senators who are on a visit to Mali said on Monday that the United States is ready to help Mali in the organization of the forthcoming elections.

The European Union (EU) has formally given the go-ahead to the launch of a 500-strong military mission in Mali to support France in its war on the West African country.

French and Malian troops have seized Mali’s town of Bourem, after they launched operations against fighters, France's military officials say.

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.

A strong explosion has rocked the city of Gao in northern Mali, amid reports of ongoing fighting between French-led troops and fighters in the African country.

A French combat helicopter has bombarded an area in Mali’s northern city of Gao, where fighters have been clashing with French-led forces since February 9.

A US defense spokesman details the US Air Force support for the French war in Mali.

US Vice President Joe Biden says Washington and Paris agreed on a need to hand over the French led war in Mali to a UN mission.

The number-three leader of the armed group that controlled Timbuktu in northern Mali until last week, Mohamed Moussa Ag Mouhamed, has been arrested near the Algerian border, sources say.

French planes carried out major air strikes in northern Mali overnight, the army reports, after President François Hollande's visit to the country Saturday.

President Francois Hollande says France would continue its combat mission in Mali and French troops will stay in the country as long as necessary.

French President Francois Hollande has arrived in Mali nearly four weeks after France launched a war against the West African country.

The United Nations has expressed concern over serious allegations of summary executions since the start of the French war in Mali.

Three suspected jihadists arrested in the days since the liberation of the town of Timbuktu said Friday that Malian soldiers were torturing them with a method similar to waterboarding.

Britain has offered French troops more military aid to help in the operation against Mali's Islamist rebels in the former French colony, Britain's top diplomat to France said Tuesday.

The International Support Mission for Mali (MISMA) could have at least 8,000 military personnel and police officers to help resolve the crisis in the West African country, a senior official of the regional bloc ECOWAS said Tuesday.

Leaders from African countries and donors from other continents on Tuesday pledged 455.5 million U.S. dollars for Mali's efforts to regain security and peace in the country.

Human rights groups and journalists have voiced concern over the information blackout on the number of civilian casualties during the French war in Mali, Press TV reports.

Thousands of people in Mali have been forced to flee their homes amid the French-led war on the West African nation.

French-led forces have taken control of the access points to the Malian desert town of Timbuktu as they continue advancing further across the north of Mali, which is controlled by fighters.