Several hundred armed Malian soldiers and vehicles joined Mauritanian troops who arrived last week, close to 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of Timbuktu.

"You see, we are brothers, our goal is the same: to ensure the security of our people, to not leave the land to terrorists, preventing the organisation from attacking," a Mauritanian soldier told AFP.

"Today we are in the Malian desert. Tomorrow, together we can, we will go into the Mauritanian desert. The problems of Mali are the problems of Mauritania and the problems of Mauritania are those of Mali, " said a Malian officer.

These joint patrols, the first ever held between the two armies will continue "for as long as it takes," a source close to the two armies told AFP.

Several hundred military vehicles, including armoured cars, are moving around in the area.

The Mauritanian army has conducted several operations in the north of Mali in July and September to prevent Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) attacks on its territory.

Army chiefs of staff from Mali, Mauritania, Algeria and Niger met in late September in Tamanrasset in southern Algeria, home of their joint command station.

They decided to strengthen the fight against AQIM whose units are very active in the desert area shared by these four states.

The meeting followed shortly after the kidnapping in mid-September of five French nationals along with a Madagascan and a Togolese, who have been transferred to northern Mali where they are still being held.

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