French and Malian troops are securing Timbuktu; the Islamist fighters who have held it for months appear to have fled. Residents say the fleeing fighters dress as civilians and head for the Mauritanian border. French forces bombed targets in the Islamist stronghold of Kidal. The African Union said it sought to make “an African Standby Force” operational in Mali soon. The US agreed to provide midair refueling for French aircraft in the Malian intervention.
