Town 90 miles from Mali capital on alert
By RUKMINI CALLIMACHI AND BABA AHMED?
?By RUKMINI CALLIMACHI AND BABA AHMEDFrench troops stand guard along the road leading from Markala to Niono, in Markala, approximately 40 km outside Segou, in central Mali, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013. French troops pressed northward in Mali toward territory occupied by radical Islamists on Wednesday, military officials said, announcing the start of a land assault that will put soldiers in direct combat "within hours." Residents of Niono, a city in the center of Mali which is just south of a town that was overrun by the jihadists earlier this week, said they saw trucks of French soldiers arrive overnight. (AP Photo/Harouna Traore)
French troops stand guard along the road leading from Markala to Niono, in Markala, approximately 40 km outside Segou, in central Mali, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013. French troops pressed northward in Mali toward territory occupied by radical Islamists on Wednesday, military officials said, announcing the start of a land assault that will put soldiers in direct combat "within hours." Residents of Niono, a city in the center of Mali which is just south of a town that was overrun by the jihadists earlier this week, said they saw trucks of French soldiers arrive overnight. (AP Photo/Harouna Traore)
Mali army cadets secure a perimeter on the military side of Bamako's airport Wednesday Jan. 16, 2013, during a joined visit to French and Malian troops by Mali's President Dioncounda Traore and French Ambassador to Mali Christian Rouyer. French troops pressed northward in Mali toward territory occupied by radical Islamists on Wednesday, military officials said, announcing the start of a land assault that will put soldiers in direct combat "within hours." (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
In this picture released by the French Army Communication Audiovisual office (ECPAD) French armored vehicules drive to the north of Mali, outside Bamako, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013. French troops pressed northward in Mali toward territory occupied by radical Islamists on Wednesday, military officials said, announcing the start of a land assault that will put soldiers in direct combat "within hours." (AP Photo/Arnaud Roine, ECPAD)
Young men play football in Bamako, Mali, Tuesday Jan. 15 2013. French forces led an all-night aerial bombing campaign Tuesday to wrest control of a small Malian town from armed Islamist extremists who seized the area, including its strategic military camp. A a convoy of 40 to 50 trucks carrying French troops crossed into Mali from Ivory Coast as France prepares for a possible land assault. Several thousand soldiers from the nations neighboring Mali are also expected to begin arriving in coming days. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Mali National Guard soldiers stand guard on the military side of Bamako's airport Wednesday Jan. 16, 2013, as a commercial jet takes off during a joined visit to French and Malian troops by Mali's President Dioncounda Traore and French Ambassador to Mali Christian Rouyer. French troops pressed northward in Mali toward territory occupied by radical Islamists on Wednesday, military officials said, announcing the start of a land assault that will put soldiers in direct combat "within hours."(AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
BAMAKO, Mali (AP) ? A town 90 miles (144 kilometers) from Mali's capital was put on alert Wednesday, and roughly 100 Malian soldiers sped there after a reported sighting of jihadists in the vicinity.
Banamba is connected by a secondary road to the garrison town of Diabaly, which was taken by Islamic extremists and has been the scene of intense fighting with French special forces.
A county official who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak publicly said they had received reports that a rebel convoy had left Diabaly on the road connecting it to Banamba.
"We don't have a garrison here, we have no defenses. So the military has come to secure the town," he said. "But from Monday to today, no jihadists have entered our town."
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