PARIS - There are now 830 African soldiers on the ground in Mali as part of the AFISMA intervention force that should eventually number around 3,000, France's armed forces spokesman Thierry Burkhard said on Monday.
Burkhard told reporters the 830 soldiers from countries including Togo, Benin, Niger, Nigeria and Chad were backing France's force of 2,150 soldiers on the ground, helping the Malian army push back Islamist rebel fighters.
