French ground forces in Mali were moving north Wednesday towards the front line, where they were set to enter direct combat against Islamist rebels "in the coming hours."
"Until now we have had some ground forces in Bamako to, first of all, protect our people, our nationals, European nationals and the city of Bamako ... Now, the French ground forces are moving north," Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian confirmed on RTL radio.
"We're on the ground now," military chief of staff Admiral Edouard Guillard told Europe 1 radio, adding French forces would be engaged in direct combat, alongside the Malian army, "in the coming hours."
A France Info radio reporter in Segou, 240 kilometres northeast of Bamako, Mali's capital, said he saw a column of armoured vehicles advancing towards the rebel-held town of Diabaly, about 160 kilometres away.
France has 800 troops deployed in Mali - a number that is set to be increased threefold. French media said a few hundred troops and around 30 vehicles were en route to Diabaly, which the rebels seized on Monday.
The preparations for ground combat comes on the sixth day of France's intervention against the rebels, who have controlled the north of the country since March 2012 and began to push south last week.
Until now, French forces have been supporting the Malian army mainly through airstrikes against rebel positions. But the aerial campaign has failed to flush the rebels out of the centre of the country.
In seizing Diabaly, the rebels opened up a second front in the fighting that had previously been centred on the town of Konna, around 700 kilometres northeast of Bamako.
The fall of Konna to the northern-based rebels last week triggered France's intervention.
On Tuesday, Le Drian said the Malian army had still to recapture the town, which was the scene of fierce fighting last weekend.
West African troops are set to arrive shortly to assist in the intervention. The United Nations last year approved the deployment of an African force.
Nigeria will lead the force. Benin, Ghana, Niger, Senegal, Burkina Faso and Togo have also pledged to take part.