The technical adviser to Mali's Defense Ministry, colonel Abdrahamane Baby, said on Friday that it was not appropriate to say that Konna locality had been recaptured at a time when the battle between the Malian army and the terrorists was still going on.

Konna locality in the southern region of Mopti is the area where the Malian army and the MUJAO, Ansar Dine and AQMI rebels have been fighting since Tuesday.

While regretting that the Malian army was not at Konna, colonel Oumar Dao, who is Mali's deputy head of military operations, noted that the "soldiers were in the process of heading there." He said Mali was facing a complex and multi-dimensional crisis.

Colonel Baby said that enormous efforts have been done by Mali, but this was not sufficient and that's why the country has appealed for support from partners in order to overcome the transnational crisis and organized crime.

Without going into details, colonel Baby said that countries such as France and Nigeria were supporting Mali in the ongoing battle at Konna.

Mali's Interim President Dioncounda Traore on Friday declared a 10-day nation-wide state of emergency and called for national and international support to the military operations against the rebel forces.

Mali's Interim President Dioncounda Traore who addressed the Nation on Friday through the national television, ORTM, requisitioned all state owned pick-up vehicles and appealed for support for the country's army from companies based in Mali.

Traore urged the mining companies as well as mobile telephone operators to support Mali's army which is engaged in a fierce battle with the rebels.

He further called on the Malian people to "place the national interests ahead of their own personal agendas."

While noting that the situation in the country was generally still under control, Traore urged the whole nation to rally behind the army, especially after Thursday's terrorist attack against the army's defense position at Konna in the southern region of Mopti.

The interim president said that he had requested and obtained aerial military support from France, in conformity to the international agreements.

In Paris, the French President Francois Hollande announced on Friday evening that the French forces had supported the Malian army on Friday afternoon against armed Islamist groups in Northern Mali. He said that the operation was meant to "fight against terrorists and it will go on as long as it's necessary."