Malian troops backed by the French military on Monday moved into the central town of Diabily, which was pounded in airstrikes over the weekend, without resistance from fighters. French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in a statement the central Malian area was under his troops' "control." Diabily, about 400 kilometres north of Bamako, had fallen to the rebels shortly after France's military intervention this month. A Malian military official told dpa airstrikes were continuing and that troops were hunting down rebel fighters on the ground.