Youths celebrate with the French flag on January 29, 2013 in Ansongo, a town south of the northern Malian city of Gao, as Niger troops enter the city. Troops from Niger and Mali on january 29 entered Ansongo, which along with Gao was recaptured by French-led soldiers over the weekend in a lightning offensive against radicals holding Mali's north. So far, just 2,000 African troops have been sent to Mali or neighboring Niger, many of them from Chad, to boost the French-led offensive which began on January 11 and led to the recapture of several towns, including Ansongo.
{"Image ImageDescription": "Youths celebrate with the French flag on January 29, 2013 in Ansongo, a town south of the northern Malian city of Gao, as Niger troops enter the city. Troops from Niger and Mali on january 29 entered Ansongo, which along with Gao was recaptured by French-led soldiers over the weekend in a lightning offensive against radicals holding Mali's north. So far, just 2,000 African troops have been sent to Mali or neighboring Niger, many of them from Chad, to boost the French-led offensive which began on January 11 and led to the recapture of several towns, including Ansongo.       AFP PHOTO / SIA KAMBOU        (Photo credit should read SIA KAMBOU/AFP via Getty Images)", "Image Copyright": "2013 AFP"}