French troops advanced on the ground toward the northern region of Mali on Wednesday, one day after France’s prime minister said African forces are set to deploy to the troubled Islamic nation “within a week.” Six days after France began airstrikes against Islamic militants and at least partially halted their advance toward the capital, Bamako, the rebels hunkered down in the strategic town of Diabaly, which remained under the rebels’ control. West African army chiefs met in Bamako on Tuesday to plan out the deployment of some 3,300 troops as part of a United Nations–backed intervention.
