GAO, Mali (AP) — The fight against extremists in northern Mali has shifted from full-on combat to a phase of hide-and-seek with jihadists, who are outnumbered and avoid direct contact with French troops, the forces say. In Operation Barkhane, launched nearly a year ago, French forces have adopted new methods of routing out Islamic extremists, including surveying the desert using drones flying sometimes in 20-hour shifts. The scale of the operation, which covers a 4,000-kilometer-wide (2,500-mile-wide) span over five countries from Burkina Faso to Chad, allows forces to track down extremists beyond the borders of Mali, where many have taken refuge.