France starts to withdraw troops from Mali

France has started to withdraw its troops from Mali, with the first group of 100 soldiers already leaving the West African country to Cyprus, local media reported Tuesday.

The military’s chief of staff said the 100 soldiers had been sent to Paphos in Cyprus on Monday, where they will spend three days in a hotel before heading back to France.

Those soldiers are from French army’s parachute units. They had been deployed in north Mali where heavy fighting against Islamist rebels took place, according to the army sources.