A spokesman for the French U.N. Mission says the Security Council will meet Monday at France's request to discuss Mali.

Spokesman Brieuc Pont said in a tweet posted Sunday that the council will meet Monday afternoon "to examine the situation in Mali." French troops have intervened to oust al-Qaida-linked Islamist extremists who control northern Mali.

The 3-day-old, French-led effort to take back Mali's north from the extremists has included airstrikes by jets and combat helicopters on at least four northern towns. Some 400 French troops have been deployed to the country in the all-out effort to win back the territory from the well-armed rebels, who seized control of an area larger than France itself following a coup in Mali nine months ago.

© Copyright 2013