TOPSHOTS Men play boules on January 30, 2013 in Gao, a game that was forbidden under Islamist rule. Gao was a key Islamist stronghold until it was retaken on January 26 by French and Malian troops in a major boost to the French-led offensive against the Al Qaeda-linked rebels, who have been holding Mali's vast desert north since last April. French troops on January 30 entered Kidal, the last Islamist bastion in Mali's north after a whirlwind Paris-led offensive, as France urged peace talks to douse ethnic tensions targeting Arabs and Tuaregs. AFP PHOTO/ SIA KAMBOU