France to Reduce Number of Troops in Mali

Plan to have only 1,000 left in their former colony by the end the year

PARIS, March 29 (UPI) -- France will reduce the number of troops it deployed to Mali to 1,000 by the end of the year, French President Francois Hollande said.

"We have achieved our objectives," Hollande said Thursday in a television interview with France 2.