France resumes military co-operation with Mali Jean Felix-Paganon, Paris's special envoy for the Sahel, visiting in the capital of Bamako, said he was charged with telling his counterparts in Mali that "we were at their disposal." "In principle, the decision has been taken to respond to the needs of the Malian army in terms of what is necessary," including sending military advisers, Mr Felix-Paganon told the news agency AFP. France ended military co-operation with Mali, its former colony, after a March coup enabled Islamist groups to seize control of the country's northern region. The re-engagement comes just over a week after the UN Security Council approved a resolution calling on governments, particularly from Africa and Europe, to send military trainers to the West African country to help the Malian government challenge the heavily armed Islamists groups and reclaim control. The Security Council's October 12 resolution also gives a green light to a proposal to deploy a 3,000-strong force under the West African regional body ECOWAS, calling on UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to present to the council "detailed and actionable recommendations" within 45 days for military operations. In anticipation of this intervention, Islamists from across the region reportedly flooded into the north at the weekend to bolster Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Mahgreb (AQIM) and its ally, Ansar Dine. Local residents and officials in Timbuktu and Gao, two cities controlled by the Islamists, reported the influx of "hundreds" of fighters from Sudan, Algeria, Senegal, and Ivory Coast. They want war, we'll give them war. This is why our brothers are joining us from all over," said Habib Ould Issouf, one of the top leaders of the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa.