The Malian government has predicted that the war against rebels in the north will be over in a matter of days after government troops recaptured another town and advanced on the rebel stronghold of Gao.
Malian troops reached the town of Hombori, 100 miles south of Gao, on Thursday following a series of French air strikes against militant targets, officials said.
Sources said the army – which was driven out from the north of the country last March – retook the central town of Douentza on Monday.
"We are winning very rapidly," Manga Dembélé, Mali's communications minister, told the Guardian on Friday. "We are making quick progress." He added: "The rebels have been dispersed. We expect this to be finished in days."
For nearly two weeks, French aircraft have bombarded rebel positions, vehicles and stores in the centre and north of Mali as a ground force of African troops assembles to launch a UN-backed military intervention.
On Thursday, around 160 troops from Burkina Faso deployed in the dusty central Malian town of Markala – the first west African troops to link up with French and Malian forces. France has some 2,150 troops on the ground.
The French have repeatedly warned that the Islamist enclave in north Mali could be a launchpad for attacks on Europe and Africa. Western powers, including the US and Britain, have provided air transport and surveillance for the mission but are not planning to contribute combat forces.
On Friday, Dembélé said Mali would welcome more troops from any friendly country, including Britain. "All friends of Mali are welcome," he said.
France has said it will stay as long as needed in Mali, a former French colony. However, it has called for African nations to take the lead in fortifying the Malian army's efforts.
There are about 1,750 troops from countries in the region, including Togo, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Benin, Senegal, Niger and Chad.
The Malian army, however, has been accused of committing retaliatory violence against civilians who appear to be northerners or those with suspected links to Islamists.
A French-based human rights group, the International Federation for Human Rights, or FIDH by its French acronym, charges that Malian forces have been behind about 33 killings since fighting erupted on 10 January.
The Malian army captain Modibo Traore called the allegations "completely false" but declined to comment further. A government statement issued on Thursday called on the military to respect human rights, saying "the army should be irreproachable".
Human rights groups have long expressed concerns about retaliatory violence against northern Malians or anyone seen as having ties to the Islamists, whose capture of the north has divided the country in two.
Meanwhile, the west African regional bloc known as Ecowas said it was organising an emergency session of defence chiefs from the 15 countries that make up the group. The gathering on Saturday will be held in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
