French and Malian soldiers have won control of the desert city of Timbuktu following the retreat of Islamist extremists,

Two rebel groups that seized control of the northern half of Mali have agreed to work together to create an independent Islamic state on the territory they occupy.

Mali’s Tuareg rebels, who seized control of the country’s north in the chaotic aftermath of a military coup, have declared independence of the Azawad nation.

Rebels who seized control of Mali’s remote north effectively partitioning the country in two have announced a ceasefire, saying they had reached their military goal.