The money will support military efforts led by the African-led International Support Mission in Mali and the Malian army, the work of the Economic Organization of West African States on Mali and humanitarian assistance.

U.N. gears up for returns

More than 380,000 people have fled northern Mali in the last year: 230,000 are internally displaced, and more than 150,000 refugees are in Mauritania, Niger, Burkina Faso and Algeria, the United Nations says.

But now, as French and Malian forces take back ground from militants, the U.N. refugee agency is preparing for the "possible spontaneous return of thousands of conflict-displaced people."

The agency, in a statement, reported that displaced people interviewed in the capital, Bamako, said they hoped to return soon.

"Returns are not yet a wide trend, but they are already being seen in some instances," the agency said.

Displaced people told U.N. interviewers that they hope to return soon to areas such as Gao, Timbuktu and Kidal. U.N. officials say people are returning to Konna, which many residents fled after militants overran that city.

The seizure of Konna, on January 10, prompted the French military intervention in Mali. The town is back under Mali's control.