A picture released by the French Army Communications Audiovisual office (ECPAD) on January 12, 2013 shows French Mirage 2000 D aircrafts flying over Mali overnight January 11 to 12, after taking off from the French military base of N’Djamena, in Chad. Backed by French air power, Malian troops on January 11 unleashed an offensive against Islamist rebels who, having seized control of the north of the country in March last year, were threatening to push south. AFP PHOTO / NICOLAS-NELSON RICHARD / ECPAD
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