Tons of weapons stockpiled by extremists discovered in Mali

Tons of stockpiled weapons belonging to al Qaeda-linked militants have been discovered by French forces in Mali, said the French defense minister on Friday. Jean-Yves Le Drian added that the discovery was especially interesting because the Islamists coming from outside were very well armed, and the new discovery further backs the view that they were planning to use two-thirds of northern Mali – especially the region of Gao – as a major operations base. The weapons were discovered in the Ametetai valley, and included heavy firearms, material for improvised explosive devices and suicide belts. France has been busy in Mali since January 2011, when they launched an operation to crush the Islamist spread across the country and prevent it from threatening other countries in Africa and Europe. from: RT