TOPSHOTS People hold a sign reading "Thank you for the liberation" on January 29, 2013 in Ansongo, a town south of the northern Malian city of Gao, as Niger troops enter the city. Troops from Niger and Mali on January 29 entered Ansongo, which along with Gao was recaptured by French-led soldiers over the weekend in a lightning offensive against radicals holding Mali's north. So far, just 2,000 African troops have been sent to Mali or neighboring Niger, many of them from Chad, to boost the French-led offensive which began on January 11 and led to the recapture of several towns, including Ansongo. AFP PHOTO / KAMBOU SIA