The Malian army has not regained control of the central Malian town of Konna, French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Tuesday.

"At this moment, Konna has not yet been retaken by Malian forces," he told a press conference, contradicting claims made by the Malians on Saturday that they had taken "total control" of the town.

Qatar cast doubt on Tuesday over the value of France's military intervention in Mali against Islamist rebels, arguing that force would not solve the problem and urging dialogue, as the U.S. threw its support behind the French military action.

"Of course we wish that this problem could be solved through dialogue, a political dialogue. I think that political dialogue is important and necessary. I don't think that power will solve the problem," Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani told reporters.

European Union foreign ministers are set to speed up the dispatch of an EU mission to train Mali's army and discuss how best to back up an African intervention force at extraordinary talks Thursday, diplomats said.

"The aim is to accelerate the process to adapt to the new situation created by France's intervention," said an EU diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity when asked for comment on the agenda of the meeting convened by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

French President Francois Hollande said on Tuesday that his government does not intend to keep forces in Mali, but will remain until security is restored and "terrorists" eliminated.

"France has no intention of staying in Mali, but we have an objective, that is when we leave there should be security in Mali, a legitimate authority, an electoral process and no more terrorists threatening the integrity of the country," Hollande told reporters in Dubai.

Tunisia's foreign minister said on Tuesday that his country was in principle opposed to all non-African military operations on the continent, as France pushed ahead with its assault on armed Islamists in Mali.

"We believe that the problems arising in Africa must be resolved within an African framework," Rafik Abdessalem said, addressing the French military campaign against al-Qaida-linked Islamist groups in Mali that began on Friday.

The conflict in Mali has caused nearly 150,000 people to flee the country, while about another 230,000 are internally displaced, the U.N. humanitarian agency said Tuesday.

According to OCHA, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees has registered 144,500 refugees in neighboring countries -- 54,100 in Mauritania, 50,000 in Niger, 38,800 in Burkina Faso and 1,500 in Algeria.

France is planning to triple the size of its force in Mali to a total of 2,500 troops, defense sources said Tuesday in the clearest sign yet that Paris is preparing for a drawn-out campaign in its former colony.

"There will be a gradual build-up to a figure of 2,500," a source close to Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in a revelation that points to French forces playing a far bigger -- and inevitably far longer -- role in the campaign against Islamist groups in northern Mali than previously indicated.

France secured fresh United Nations backing for its military action in Mali and reinforced its ground forces with an armored column after driving Islamists from their northern bases with air strikes.

But the Islamists struck back in western Mali, capturing the small town of Diabaly from the country's weakened army, highlighting the daunting campaign ahead to restore order in the West African nation.

EU foreign ministers will meet in two or three days to discuss the Mali crisis, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Monday.

"A special meeting of the foreign ministers of the European Union will be held this week on Mali," he said, adding it would be in held "in two-three days."

Traditionally hostile to foreign interference, Algiers has thrown its support behind operations in Mali against Islamist forces in a surprise about-turn that saw it open its skies to French warplanes.

But some observers say Algeria's change of heart followed a "betrayal" by armed rebel groups in Mali who vowed to cease hostilities last month, and represents a failure of its non-interventionist policy.