Islamist rebel group the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO) claimed responsibility for an attack by gunmen Sunday on the city of Gao in northern Mali and a suicide bombing the day before.

"Today God's faithful successfully attacked the Malian army, which let the enemies of Islam come to Gao. MUJAO also claims the suicide bombing yesterday that made the Malian soldiers flee," said Abou Walid Sahraoui, spokesman for the group, which had already claimed another suicide blast Friday, the country's first.

Thousands of people protested in central Tunis on Saturday shouting pro-Islamist and anti-French slogans, a day after the funeral of a murdered opposition figure became a mass rally against the ruling Islamist party.

"France get out!" and "The people want to protect the legitimacy" of the government were among slogans chanted by Ennahda party supporters who numbered more than 3,000, Agence France Presse journalists estimated.

French frozen food supplier Comigel told the Findus brand that "the contamination" of processed beef products with horsemeat could date back to August 2012, Findus said in a statement Saturday.

"Findus want to be absolutely explicit that they were not aware of any issue of contamination with horsemeat last year," it said in a statement.

French forces on Friday took control of the strategic oasis town of Tessalit in far northeastern Mali, one of the last bastions of Islamist rebels, the military said.

General Staff spokesman Colonel Thierry Burkhard said French forces "control Tessalit" after an overnight operation that saw special forces parachute into the local airport.

Thousands took to the streets after opposition groups called for "Friday of dignity" rallies demanding Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi fulfill the goals of the revolt that brought him to power.

Banging on drums, waving flags and clapping in unison, demonstrators marched from several locations in the capital towards Tahrir Square and the presidential palace.

Three out of four French support their country's military intervention to oust Islamists in Mali, with support for the action at its highest since President Francois Hollande sent in troops a month ago, a poll showed.

Seventy-three percent back the move, with just 27 percent against it, said the survey by IFOP to be published Friday.

Four Malian troops were killed by a landmine in territory reclaimed from Islamist rebels, police said Thursday as France mulled handing over its four-week-old intervention to U.N. peacekeepers.

The deadly explosion Wednesday between the northern towns of Douentza and Gao came six days after a similar blast in the same area killed two Malian soldiers, underlining the danger the Islamist fighters still pose despite fleeing the towns under their control.

French President Francois Hollande on Wednesday presented France's highest honor, the Legion of honor, to World Jewish Congress chief Ronald Lauder, praising him as "a man of peace, culture and commitment".

"Since 2007, you have been the president of the World Jewish Congress, which brings together representatives of Jewish communities from 100 countries, you criss-cross the world and you carry a message of tolerance and peace," Hollande said in a ceremony at the Elysee Palace in Paris, where he bestowed the medal on the American.

France is aiming to have the United Nations take over peacekeeping operations in Mali by April, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Wednesday.

Fabius told journalists France was working to have the current African-led mission put under the umbrella of the United Nations and confirmed France was planning to begin drawing back its troops in March.

A French tanker that was released on Wednesday by armed pirates who seized it earlier in the week is headed to Togo's capital Lome, a port official in the west African nation told Agence France Presse.

A spokesman for Sea Tankers, owner of the vessel that was hijacked off Ivory Coast, had earlier confirmed the release and said that two of the 17 sailors on board reported light injuries when the ship was freed.