[West Africa’s regional body is gearing up for a tough fight to help Mali’s government forces reclaim the north of the country from Islamist militants, telling the U.N. Security Council on Monday it needs major combat assets, including fighter jets.Mali descended into chaos in March when soldiers toppled the president, leaving a power vacuum that enabled Tuareg rebels to seize nearly two-thirds of the country. But Islamist groups, some allied with al Qaeda, then hijacked the rebellion in the north to impose sharia law.]

 

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