ANKARA
Turkey's top envoy in Mali has said French air strikes on rebel positions in northern Mali had prompted increased support among Malian people for France.
"Demonstrations have turned into support for France after the French intervention," Kemal Kaygisiz, Turkey's ambassador in Bamako, the Malian capital, told the Anadolu Agency.
Kaygisiz said troops from Nigeria, the lead country in the ECOWAS, were expected to arrive in Mali soon, adding that contacts between Mali's north and south had been cut off entirely.
"Turkey has always defended the territorial integrity of Mali. As with the rest of the international community we have never favored a division in the north. We want political stability to be reestablished in the country," Kaygisiz said.
