French-led troops are consolidating their position in the historic Malian city of Timbuktu after seizing it from Islamist extremists.
French military commanders say soldiers are patrolling the streets looking to flush out any remaining militants.
Once Timbuktu is secured, troops are expected to focus on the last rebel stronghold, Kidal.
Meanwhile, an international donors' conference has opened in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
The African Union, which has just ended a summit in the city, hopes the conference will raise funds for a multinational force to fight the rebels.
Also on Tuesday, a conference in Brussels is due to decide on troops for an EU military training mission for Mali. The UK has already said it will contribute to the mission.
'No shots fired'
Earlier on Monday, about 1,000 French soldiers - including paratroopers - and 200 Malian troops seized Timbuktu airport and entered the city.
Col Frederic Gout, head of French helicopter operations at Timbuktu, told Agence France-Presse: "There were no shots fired, no blood spilt. Not even passive resistance with traps."
Residents were still cheering French and Malian troops when we entered the city late in the afternoon.
Both national flags can be seen all over town. The feeling that people are coming back to life after nearly a year of occupation by extremist militants is simply incredible.
There are still some reminders of the Islamist rule with banners declaring Sharia here and there.
But we have also seen people looting houses allegedly held by al-Qaeda militants. A young man was walking with a huge wooden door on his back while others fought for iron sheets and all sorts of lamps and cables.
A French commander said troops were still sweeping the town for mines, booby traps and more importantly for potential militants hiding within the population.
There is no electricity here nor phone network. The two main hotels, which have been closed for so long, have reopened to accommodate incoming journalists. Staff are delighted to welcome us and are moving heaven and earth to resume normal service.
Both national flags can be seen all over town. The feeling that people are coming back to life after nearly a year of occupation by extremist militants is simply incredible.
There are still some reminders of the Islamist rule with banners declaring Sharia here and there.
But we have also seen people looting houses allegedly held by al-Qaeda militants. A young man was walking with a huge wooden door on his back while others fought for iron sheets and all sorts of lamps and cables.
A French commander said troops were still sweeping the town for mines, booby traps and more importantly for potential militants hiding within the population.
There is no electricity here nor phone network. The two main hotels, which have been closed for so long, have reopened to accommodate incoming journalists. Staff are delighted to welcome us and are moving heaven and earth to resume normal service.
Welcoming the French and Malian force, residents said that the Islamists had left several days earlier, following French air strikes on their bases.
As they withdrew into the desert, the Islamist fighters set fire to several buildings including a library containing priceless manuscripts, some dating back to the 13th Century.
The Ahmed Baba institute held about 30,000 manuscripts and includes documents about centuries of life in the city, Mali and neighbouring countries.
Ali Baba, a worker at the institute, told Sky News that more than 3,000 manuscripts had been destroyed.
The recovery of Timbuktu followed the swift capture by French and Malian forces of Gao on Saturday, another major northern population centre occupied by militant groups.
Islamists took advantage of a coup last year to seize the vast north of Mali and impose strict Sharia law on its inhabitants.
France - the former colonial power in Mali - launched a military operation earlier this month after militants looked to be threatening the south.
Meanwhile, reports from Kidal - home of the head of Ansar Dine, the main militant group in northern Mali - suggest that the group may have already lost control there.
The secular Tuareg rebel group MNLA said it had taken charge. AFP quoted a spokesman of an Ansar Dine breakaway faction as saying that it was jointly "ensuring security" with the MNLA.
In Paris, French President Francois Hollande said that African forces would now be in the forefront of securing the north.
"We know that this is the most difficult part because the terrorists are hidden there and can still carry out extremely dangerous operations, for neighbouring countries and Mali," he said.
France has 2,900 soldiers in Mali, with almost 8,000 African troops expected to take over, although the deployment has been slow.
The BBC's Mark Doyle, in Bandiagara, some 320km (200 miles) south of Timbuktu, says there is still great fear among the people outside of the main population centres.
No-one is sure where the Islamists have gone, he says, and there are concerns that another phase of the war could now begin - one of hit-and-run attacks or suicide bombings.
Donor conference
Mali dominated an African Union summit which ended on Monday in Addis Ababa, with the bloc deciding to contribute $50m (£32m) to the multinational force.
Signs proclaiming Sharia law are a testament to the militants' period of control
An AU official said 60 to 70 donors had also been invited to Tuesday's international donors' conference, which has now opened in the Ethiopian capital.
It is hoped they will help meet the cost of a military operation which is estimated at up to $1bn (£635bn).
Japan's foreign ministry said on Tuesday it would give an additional $120m "to help stabilise Mali and the Sahel region".
On Monday, the International Monetary Fund agreed an $18.4m emergency loan to Mali.
Addressing the AU summit on Monday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the Malian government should look beyond the current conflict if it wanted peace in the country.
"I'm urging the Malian authorities to engage in inclusive dialogue, to have a political process going on and to have national reconciliations through dialogue, so that they can have constitutional order restored, they can have a political solution, economic stability insured," he said.
