A Royal Air Force C-17 transport plane comes in to land at RAF Brize Norton. The MoD stays there has been no request for further help from the UK. Photograph: Gavin Fog/AFP/Getty Images
The second British aircraft offered to help the French military effort in Mali was stuck on the ground on Monday as RAF technicians raced to overcome a fault that prevented it from taking off.
The first of the C-17 transport planes left RAF Brize Norton on Sunday afternoon, and should be in Mali lateron Monday, having picked up troops and supplies in France.
If the problem can be overcome, the second C-17 should fly on Tuesday, as the French continue to build up arms and equipment in its former colony.
French Rafale planes and Gazelle attack helicopters widened their bombing campaign on Monday, launching air strikes for the first time in central Mali. But Islamist insurgents launched a counterattack in the country's south-west, clashing with Mali government forces in Diabaly.
"The Islamists are fighting with the army inside the town," one local resident told Reuters. "They started to infiltrate the town last night by crossing the river in little groups."
The Ministry of Defence stressed there had been no request for further help from the UK, and it had no plans to send specialist equipment, such as drones, to the west African country.
"We are not expecting to augment the British involvement beyond what was set out by Downing Street over the weekend," said an official.
The National Security Council, chaired by David Cameron, will meet on Tuesday, to discuss the crisis in a country where jihadist groups control the north and are trying to push south towards the capital, Bamako. Cameron is expected to receive reports from defence and intelligence officials.
Asked if the UK could play any further part in the Mali operation, the prime ministers's official spokesman said: "We are providing logistical assistance to the French government. It is purely a logistical role. We have been very clear that this is a logistical role only. It will not be a combat role. If there are other logistical and support roles that are proposed, I am sure they will be considered."
Ministers have been briefed on the situation before, and MI6 is known to have had serious concerns about developments in the country. The fear is that al-Qaida supporters have found a new home in which to train and equip fighters.
While there is little intelligence to suggest they have the capability or the focus to export violence beyond Mali at this stage, there is a long-term concern for analysts that that may change.
Jim Murphy, the shadow defence secretary, said: "It is right that the international community takes action in Mali and that Britain makes a contribution. The growth of Islamic militancy in the region is a threat to international security and British interests. The British people will want to be clear about the strategic purpose of this mission and the scope of our military commitment, whether this is a one-off contribution or part of a phased engagement. It is vital that the long-term goal, alongside halting the advance of extremist groups and achieving security and stability, is fostering conditions for a political process."
A spokesman for the Movement of Unity and Jihad in West Africa, one of the main factions in the rebel alliance, warned on Monday that French citizens would pay for Sunday's air strikes on its stronghold of Gao. Dozens of Islamist fighters were killed when rockets struck a fuel depot and a customs house used as a headquarters.
"They should attack on the ground if they are men. We'll welcome them with open arms," Oumar Ould Hamaha told Europe 1 radio.
"France has opened the gates of hell for all the French. She has fallen into a trap which is much more dangerous than Iraq, Afghanistan or Somalia."
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/jan/14/uk-plane-delay-french-military-mali
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