Fighting raged in one Mali town on Thursday, air strikes hit another and army troops raced to protect a third, on the seventh day of the French-led military intervention to wrest back Mali's north from al Qaida-linked groups.

　　West African troops began arriving in the Malian capital, Bamako, to help French and government forces fight Islamists in control of the country's north.

　　Colonel A. Mounkaila is an ECOWAS official from Niger.

　　"We are very happy to see the first African soldiers disembarking onto the soil of Mali. A promise was made they be here by the 18th of January and it was kept."

　　Meanwhile, Malian Foreign Minister Tieman Coulibaly said the current military resources on the ground were insufficient to repel Islamic rebels in the West African country.

　　European Union members had agreed to send hundreds of military personnel to train Malian government forces in fighting Islamist rebels, as a civil war in Mali spilled across its borders.

　　The mission will comprise about 200 military trainers as well as some security personnel.

　　At the same time, China has asked the Malian government to protect Chinese nationals living in the country.

　　Chinese embassies in Mali and neighboring Algeria have been keeping close contact with concerned personnel, enterprises and other organizations, as well as provide them with necessary consular assistance and protection.