| Bombardment of Gao | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Mali War | |||||||
 French Rafale refueling, circa 2013 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 France |  MOJWA | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| 4 Rafale fighter jets | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| None | 60+ killed | ||||||
On January 13, 2013, as one of the first actions of French intervention in Mali, French planes bombed the city of Gao, which was controlled by the jihadist Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA).
In early 2012, moderate Tuareg rebels of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) launched an offensive against Malian forces in northern Mali, capturing swathes of territory including the cities of Kidal and Ménaka. The rebellion was quickly hijacked by jihadist groups such as Ansar Dine and MOJWA, which sought to create an Islamic state in northern Mali. The capture of the cities of Timbuktu and Gao by these groups pushed French forces to intervene in Mali, pushing the rebels back at the city of Konna. On the same day of the Gao bombings, French forces also bombed an Ansar Dine base in Aghabo, Kidal Region. [1]
On the morning of January 13, four Rafale fighter jets took off from Saint-Dizier in France and headed towards Mali, accompanied by tankers. Two of the aircraft were equipped with air-to-surface missiles and two were equipped with laser-guided bombs. [2] [3] The aircraft flew over Morocco and Mauritania to avoid Algerian airspace. They refueled three times during the journay; once over Spain, once over Mauritania and again near the Mauritanian-Malian border. [4] Around six hours after takeoff, French forces bombed several areas in and around Gao. The strikes lasted a total of forty minutes, and twelve laser-guided bombs and nine air-to-surface missiles were launched. [5]
French defense minister Jean-Yves Le Drian stated that "training camps, infrastructure and logistics depots constituting the rear bases of the terrorist groups" were destroyed during the bombardment. Following the strikes, the planes flew eastward for around two hours before landing at the N'Djamena airbase around 4:30pm. [2]
The jihadists in the town were surprised at the bombings, and suffered heavy losses. Residents stated that more than sixty jihadists were killed in the strikes in the town of Gao, and more died in the bases on the outskirts. Jihadists who survived the attacks sought refuge in the houses of civilians, and only came back out during nightfall to bury the bodies of their comrades. [3]
A regional security source stated that the most deaths were at the military camp in Gao. At the time of the bombings, the jihadists were in the middle of a meeting. Many of those in the meeting were killed. Another source corroborated the heavy casualties at the military camp, and stated that the toll of sixty dead was not an exaggeration, and that the real death toll was much higher. [6]
Residents of Gao stated there were no civilian casualties during the bombings. Some residents cheered at the strikes, and looted the Gao police station. The Firhoun and Bourem military camps were destroyed, and another camp in the center of Gao was destroyed. [1]
The Battle of Gao was fought between the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) and the Islamist Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA), along with its ally Ansar Dine, in Gao between 26–28 June 2012. By the 28 June, Gao, Timbuktu and Kidal, the three biggest cities in the disputed secessionist region of Azawad within what is recognised as Malian territory, were under the control of Ansar Dine and its Islamist allies.
The Mali War is an ongoing conflict that started in January 2012 between the northern and southern parts of Mali in Africa. On 16 January 2012, several insurgent groups began fighting a campaign against the Malian government for independence or greater autonomy for northern Mali, which they called Azawad. The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), an organization fighting to make this area of Mali an independent homeland for the Tuareg people, had taken control of the region by April 2012.
The Battle of Ifoghas, also known as the Battle of Tigharghâr or the Battle of the Ametettai, took place from 18 February to 31 March 2013, during the Northern Mali conflict. The French army and the Chadian army fought armed Salafist jihadist groups led by Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and Ansar Dine. After being defeated in January in the Battle of Konna and the Battle of Diabaly, the jihadists abandoned Timbuktu and retreated into the Adrar Tigharghar, a mountain of the Adrar of Ifoghas in northeastern Mali, which has been their sanctuary for years. The French started quickly a pursuit, and they took control of the towns of Tessalit and Aguelhok and begun the operation Panther in the Tigharghar. The first clashes erupt on February 18 and are mainly concentrated in the Ametettai Valley. It is caught between two armored columns, one French to the west and another Chadian to the east, while the paratroopers manage to surprise the jihadists by attacking on foot from the north. The valley is taken on March 3 and jihadists begin to gradually abandon the Tigharghar. Excavation missions and some skirmishes, however, continue to take place the following days. The operations cease on March 31. The battle was a turning point in the war, as with the capture of the Tigharghar, the jihadists lose their main sanctuary in the Sahel as well as most of their military arsenal, taken from the Malian army or Libya.
The Battle of Konna was a battle in the Northern Mali Conflict in the town of Konna in central Mali. Various Islamic fundamentalist rebels fought with the government of Mali, the latter of which was supported by French soldiers participating in Operation Serval. This battle was among the first French engagements in their intervention in the Mali War.
The Battle of Diabaly was fought between government forces of Mali, against groups of Islamists militants such as the AQIM and Ansar Dine. The Islamists held control of Diabaly for no longer than a week until Malian forces with the help French air strikes recaptured the town.
The following is a timeline of major events during the Northern Mali conflict.
The Second Battle of Gao was the recapture of the city of Gao from Islamist MOJWA fighters by Malian/French forces. It took place in January 2013 within the Northern Mali Conflict.
The Battle of Imenas was an armed confrontation between French-Malian forces and the Jihadists terrorist groups, Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa and Al-Mulathameen. The battle was a decisive Franco-Malian victory, as it resulted, according to the French and the Malian governments, in 52 Islamists being killed, with no government forces being killed.
The Third Battle of Gao was fought in the city of Gao on 9–11 February 2013, during the Northern Mali Conflict. It was a raid on the city by rebel MOJWA forces. The raiders were defeated by Malian government forces with the support of troops from France.
The Fourth Battle of Gao was fought in the city of Gao on 20–22 February 2013, during the Northern Mali Conflict. It was an attempt by rebel MOJWA forces to retake the city. The attempt was repelled by Malian government forces with the support of troops from France and Niger.
On March 6, French and Malian forces took control of the Wadi Tin Keraten area, located 100 km east of Gao and northeast of Imenas. When Malian soldiers got near Tin Keraten, they were attacked by Islamists from MOJWA. French ground troops arrived supported by Tiger helicopters and Gazelles along with some warplanes. Four Malian soldiers were wounded during the battle and a French soldier, sergeant Wilfried Pingaud of the 68th Artillery Regiment in Africa, was mortally wounded. He was transported to Gao, where he died of his wounds. The Islamists lost about ten men according to French reports.
Ahmed al-Tilemsi, nom de guerre of Abderrahmane Ould El Amar was a Malian jihadist leader and drug trafficker who served as a founding member and senior figure of the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO) and a senior figure and alleged emir of al-Mourabitoun.
Ibrahim Ag Inawalen, nom de guerreBana, was a Malian soldier and jihadist in Ansar Dine.
The raid on Ténenkou took place on January 16, 2015, between Malian forces and jihadists of the Ansar Dine-affiliated Katiba Macina.
On January 5, 2015, militants from Katiba Macina and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) overran Malian defenses and briefly captured the city of Nampalari, Mali.
Between December 10 and 11, 2014, French forces ambushed militants from al-Mourabitoun near Tabankort, Gao Region, Mali. The ambush led to the death of Ahmed al-Tilemsi, the founder of MOJWA and a key figure in al-Mourabitoun.
Abdou Aïssa, nom de guerre Sultan Ould Bady, is a Malian jihadist and drug trafficker. He co-founded the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA) with Hamada Ould Mohamed Kheirou and Ahmed al-Tilemsi, and founded Katibat Salahadin, a katiba within MOJWA that later reformed in the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara after Bady defected.
On February 6, 2014, between thirty-one and thirty-five Imghad Tuareg civilians were massacred by Fulani militants that may have been connected to the jihadist outfit Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA) in and around Tamkoutat, Ménaka Region, Mali.
On December 14, 2013, Katibat Salahadin militants attacked Senegalese peacekeepers and Malian soldiers in the city of Kidal. Residents of Kidal stated that the attack was one of the most destructive since the beginning of the Mali War.
On October 23, 2013, Katiba Salahadin militants attacked Chadian peacekeepers in the city of Tessalit, sparking a battle between the militants and Chadian and French forces. The attack was the first attack by jihadists targeting MINUSMA peacekeepers during the Mali War.