West African leaders gather over Mali crisis as France plans more troops NEW: Islamic police chief killed in revenge killing West African leader were to meet Saturday to discuss the Mali crisis The gathering comes after French and Malian troops recapture a key town (CNN) -- The number of French troops in Mali could top 2,500, France's defense minister said Saturday as West African leaders discussed plans for additional forces to help battle militants in the north. There are about 2,000 French troops in Mali so far, French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told CNN affiliate France 3. The number of boots on the ground is a top priority as West African states met Saturday in the Ivory Coast capital of Abidjan. At the gathering, the leaders were to discuss ways to speed up deployment of African troops to help their French counterparts push out the Islamist militants. The regional bloc -- the Economic Community Of West African States -- has said it has 3,300 regional troops on standby. France intervened in Mali about a week ago after militants started advancing toward the capital, forcing world leaders to fast-track decisions on intervention. French and Malian forces retook the key town of Konna from militants Friday, a French source said. Militants said they had seized Konna on January 10, which prompted France to start its offensive over fears that fighters were inching toward the capital. It was one of the most successful democracies in Africa until last year when a coup toppled the president and Islamists capitalized on the chaos and established themselves in the north. France President Francois Hollande said the offensive's mission is to destroy the terrorist groups that have taken root. On Saturday, demonstrators in the city of Gao killed an Islamic police chief in what eyewitnesses described as a revenge killing. A day earlier, Islamist militants killed local journalist Kader Toure for allegedly giving information to the Malian army. The journalist was shot while on his motorcycle, an eyewitness told CNN. Demonstrators in Gao avenged the reporter's death on Saturday by killing police chief Aliou Maiga, an eyewitness said. After neighboring Algeria allowed France to use its airspace to take on insurgents, militants angry about the move stormed a gas field in eastern Algeria and took hostages in what is now an ongoing hostage crisis. Christian Rouyer, French ambassador to Mali, reiterated the need for the French offensive. "We had a friendly country that was on the verge of dying," Rouyer said Friday. The unrest could soon displace up to 700,000 in the country and around the region, said Melissa Fleming, a spokeswoman for the U.N. refugee agency. CNN's Per Nyberg contributed to this report.