Jump to content

Timeline of the Mali War

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A Tuareg fighter aims a machine gun in northern Mali

The following is a timeline of major events during the Northern Mali conflict.

2012

[edit]

January

February

  • 1 February: After regaining the town of Ménaka after the battle in January, the military of Mali retreats and the MNLA takes the town over.[3]
  • 2 February: Large-scale protests against the violence in the north take place in Bamako, the capital of Mali, and cause disruptions and shut down much of the city.[4]

March

  • 5 March: Units of the military of Mali fail to end the siege of the military garrison in Tessalit that had existed for weeks.[5]
  • 10 March: Spiritual leaders in Mali issue a call for peace.[6]
  • 12 March: The MNLA (and allies) take over Tessalit.[7]
  • 14 March: Rebel forces took control of the towns of Diré and Goundam.[8]
  • 21 March: soldiers dissatisfied with the course of the conflict attacked Defense Minister Sadio Gassama as he arrived to speak to them at the Kati military camp.[9]
  • 21–22 March: 2012 Malian coup d'état, disgruntled soldiers took over the capital city[10] and on the morning of the 22nd, Amadou Konare went on state television, which identified him as the spokesperson of the National Committee for the Restoration of Democracy and State (CNRDR), formed by the renegade soldiers. Konare declared that the soldiers had seized power from 'the incompetent regime of Amadou Toumani Touré' and said it would look to hand over power to a new, democratically elected government.[11] The coup was "unanimously condemned" by the international community,[12]
  • 30 March: Rebels captured Kidal[13] and Ansongo and Bourem in Gao Region.[14]
  • 31 March: Rebels take over Gao.[15]

April

Islamist fighters in northern Mali
  • 1 April: Rebels attack Timbuktu[16] Reports that Ansar Dine takes over the city and chases away MNLA fighters.[6]
  • 2 April: ECOWAS and Mauritanian and Algeria place wide-ranging sanctions on the military government of Mali.[6]
  • 3 April: Armed groups looted 2,354 tons of food from United Nations' World Food Programme's warehouses in Kidal, Gao and Timbuktu, causing the WFP to suspend its operations in northern Mali.[17]
  • 4 April: Civil society and 50 political parties in Mali refuse to take part in a discussion with the military government on plans for the future.[6]
  • 5 April: Islamists, possibly from AQIM or MOJWA, entered the Algerian consulate in Gao and took hostages.[18]
  • 6 April: The MNLA declares independence of the northern part of Mali.[19]
  • 8 April: The National Liberation Front of Azawad (FNLA) announced its formation and intention to oppose Tuareg rule, battle the MNLA, and "return to peace and economic activity"; the group claimed to consist of 500 fighters.[20]
  • 8 April: President Amadou Toumani Touré resigns and Dioncounda Traoré is named interim President.[21]

May

  • 4 May: Ansar Dine members reportedly burned the tomb of a Sufi saint.[22]
  • 14 May: Protesters and the MNLA clashed in the city of Gao, reportedly injuring four and killing one.[23]
  • 26 May: MNLA and Ansar Dine agree to merge and create an independent state together. This alliance falls apart days later.[24]

June

  • 8 June: MNLA and Ansar Dine forces fight with one another in Kidal, killing two in the skirmish, as a result of protests in the city opposed to the imposition of Sharia law.[25]
  • 26–27 June: Battle of Gao started when protesters opposed to Tuareg rule by the MNLA resulted in two deaths (allegedly by MNLA forces).[26] MNLA and MOJWA began fighting in the city of Gao, resulting in an injury to Bilal ag Acherif, the MNLA Secretary General, and a retreat of MNLA from the city and others.[27][28]
  • 29 June: Islamists are in charge of most of northern Mali and the MNLA holds few cities.[24]
  • 30 June: Destruction of tombs in Timbuktu by Islamist forces.[21]

July

  • 29 July: A couple was stoned to death by Islamists in Aguelhok for having children outside of marriage.[29]

August

  • 9 August: Islamist militants chopped off the hand of an alleged thief in the town of Ansongo, despite a crowd pleading with the militants for mercy.[30]

September

  • 1 September: MOJWA takes over the southern town of Douentza, which had previously been held by a Songhai secular militia, the Ganda Iso[31]
  • 8 September: Malian soldiers detained 17 unarmed Tablighi preachers from Mauritania in Dogofry (north of Diabaly) while en route to a religious conference in Bamako and executed all but one of them without reporting to their own command. The Malian government expressed its condolences for the incident, which Associated Press considered a symptom of the disintegration reached by the Malian Army as a result of the 21 March Coup.[32]
  • 24 September: A group broke off from the MNLA, calling itself the Front for the Liberation of the Azawad (FPA), aiming to focus efforts on fighting the Islamists.[33]

October

November

  • 11 November: Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) authorizes 3,000 troops for involvement in AFISMA.[21]
  • 16 November: MNLA forces launch an offensive against Gao, but fail to retake the town.[36]
  • 19 November: MOJWA and AQIM forces took over the eastern town of Ménaka, which had previously been held by the MNLA.[37]

December

2013

[edit]

January

  • 4 January: A ceasefire between Ansar Dine and the army of Mali is ended by Ansar Dine claiming the terms were not met.[24]
  • 10 January: Islamist forces captured the strategic town of Konna, located 600 km from the capital.[39]
  • 11 January: France launched Opération Serval, militarily intervening in the conflict.[40] The operation included the use of Gazelle helicopters from the Special forces, which stopped an Islamist column advancing to Mopti, and the use of four Mirage 2000-D jets of the Armée de l'Air operating from a base in Chad. 12 targets were hit by the Mirages during the night between the 11th and the 12th.[41]
  • 12 January: the British government announced that it was deploying two Royal Air Force C-17 transport planes in a non-combat role to ferry primarily French but also potentially African forces into Mali.[42]
  • 14 January: Islamists attacked the city of Diabaly from the Mauritanian border where they fled to avoid the airstrikes. The AQIM leader known as Abu Zeid was leading the operation.[43]
  • 16 January: The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court opened a formal investigation of alleged war crimes in Mali.[44]
  • 16–19 January: In Amenas hostage crisis. AQIM militants crossed the border from Mali into Algeria and captured an Algerian/Statoil/BP-owned natural gas field, In Aménas, near the border with Libya. They took a number of foreign workers hostage and
  • 14–21 January: Battle of Diabaly begins with the Malian army, and possibly French special forces, fighting against Islamists in the city of Diabaly.[45][46] Islamists retreated from the city by 18 January and the Malian military and French forces retook the city on 21 January without resistance.[47][48]
  • 18 January: Malian army reclaims control of Konna without resistance.[49][50]
  • 19 January: Residents of Gao had lynched Aliou Toure, a prominent Islamist leader and the MOJWA police commissioner of the city, in retaliation for the killing of a local journalist, Kader Toure.[51]
  • 19 January: Human Rights Watch report killings and other human rights abuses committed by the Malian army in the central Malian town of Niono. Tuaregs and Arabs were especially targeted.[52]
  • 19 January: Two Nigerian soldiers were killed and five were injured by Islamists near the Nigerian town of Okene as they were heading toward Mali.[53]
  • 25–27 January: Second Battle of Gao

February

March

April

May

2014

[edit]

2015

[edit]

2016

[edit]

2017

[edit]

2018

[edit]
  • 11 January: Three French soldiers of the Barkhane force were wounded, one of them seriously, by a suicide bomber in eastern Mali.[54][55]
  • 24 January: Two Malian customs officers have been killed in a suspected jihadist attack at a market in the small village of Toubakoro.[56]
  • 1 July:
    • Four French soldiers are wounded near Bourem when two VBCIs are hit by suicide bombers. Four civilians were also killed.[57]
    • A vehicle carrying several MSA fighters hit an explosive device, probably a mine, in the centre of the village of Talataye in the Ansongo Cercle of the Malian Gao region. Six fighters were killed and another injured in the incident.[58]
    • A suicide bomber drove a vehicle loaded with explosives into an army patrol and detonated it in the Malian city of Gao. Four civilians were killed and 31 others, including four French soldiers, wounded in the attack.[59][60]

2019

[edit]

2020

[edit]
  • 9 January: Twenty people, including eighteen U.N. peacekeepers, were wounded following a rocket attack on a MINUSMA base in Tessalit, Kidal Region.[61]
  • 26 January: A Malian Armed Forces camp in Sokolo, Niono Cercle was attacked, leading to the deaths of 19 Malian soldiers.[62]
  • 29 January: Prime Minister Boubou Cisse announced his intention to hire 10,000 new soldiers for the Malian Armed Forces in order to combat jihadist groups.[63]
  • 13 February: A "reconstituted" battalion of the Armed Forces of Mali, incorporating former rebel soldiers, arrived at Kidal, becoming the first government soldiers to be based in the city since March 2012. The battalion was escorted by MINUSMA forces and based at Camp General Abdoulaye Soumaré.[64]
  • 17 May: Malian Armed Forces returned to Labbézanga after they withdrew in November 2019[65]
  • 3 June: Malian forces killed AQIM leader, Abdelmalek Droukdel in operation near Algerian border.[66]

2022

[edit]

2023

[edit]

2024

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Mali Besieged by Fighters Fleeing Libya". Stratfor. Archived from the original on 17 October 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
  2. ^ "Tuareg rebels behind January killings, confirms Mali army". Radio France International. 13 February 2012. Archived from the original on 29 September 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
  3. ^ "AFP: Tuareg rebels take Mali town after army pullout". Agence France-Presse. 31 January 2012. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
  4. ^ "Mali capital paralysed by anti-rebellion protests". Reuters. 2 February 2012. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
  5. ^ "Mali govt forces fail to lift garrison town siege". Reuters. 5 March 2012. Archived from the original on 26 May 2024. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
  6. ^ a b c d "A timeline of northern conflict". IRIN News. 5 April 2012. Archived from the original on 3 February 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  7. ^ "Tuareg rebels take Mali garrison town, say sources". Trust. Reuters. 11 March 2012. Archived from the original on 14 April 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
  8. ^ "Mauritania denies collusion as Mali rebels advance". Reuters. 14 March 2012. Archived from the original on 4 February 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
  9. ^ Dembele, Diakaridia (21 March 2012). "Mali Military Blocks Presidential Palace After Gunshots". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 27 April 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
  10. ^ "Mali army claims upper hand over rebels amid coup disarray". The Province. Agence France-Presse. 25 March 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2012.[permanent dead link]
  11. ^ "Renegade Mali soldiers say seize power, depose Toure". Reuters. 22 March 2012. Archived from the original on 14 November 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
  12. ^ "Au Mali, le front des putschistes se fragilise". Le Monde (in French). 24 March 2012. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
  13. ^ "Mali coup: Rebels seize desert town of Kidal". BBC News. 30 March 2012. Archived from the original on 30 March 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  14. ^ David Lewis and Adama Diarra (30 March 2012). "Mali coup leader seeks help as rebels seize towns". Reuters. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  15. ^ Baba Ahmed and Rukmini Callimachi (2 April 2012). "Islamist group plants flag in Mali's Timbuktu". Boston Globe. Associated Press. Retrieved 3 April 2012.[dead link]
  16. ^ "Mali Tuareg rebels enter Timbuktu after troops flee". BBC News. 1 April 2012. Archived from the original on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  17. ^ "UN Council Hammers out Condemnation of Mali Conflict". Agence France-Presse. 3 April 2012. Archived from the original on 1 February 2013. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  18. ^ "Les rebelles touareg en guerre contre Al Qaida au Maghreb islamique ?". Le Monde. 5 April 2012. Archived from the original on 8 April 2012. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
  19. ^ "Mali Tuareg rebels declare independence in the north". BBC News. 6 April 2012. Archived from the original on 21 July 2012. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  20. ^ Felix, Bate; Diarra, Adama (10 April 2012). "New north Mali Arab force seeks to "defend" Timbuktu". Reuters. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  21. ^ a b c "Timeline: The war for Mali". Washington Post. 17 January 2013. Archived from the original on 30 January 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  22. ^ "Rebels burn Timbuktu tomb listed as U.N. World Heritage site". CNN. 6 May 2012. Archived from the original on 26 December 2013. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  23. ^ "Mali Separatists Send Group to Talk to Protestors". Voice of America. 15 May 2012. Archived from the original on 19 May 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  24. ^ a b c d Rice, Xan (13 January 2013). "Mali timeline". Financial Times. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  25. ^ "Mali rebel groups 'clash in Kidal'". BBC News. 8 June 2012. Archived from the original on 23 December 2012. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  26. ^ "Mali: 2 Killed in Anti-Rebel Protest". The New York Times. Reuters. 26 June 2012. Archived from the original on 24 January 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  27. ^ "Mali Islamists 'oust' Tuaregs from Timbuktu". News 24. Agence France-Presse. 29 June 2012. Archived from the original on 1 July 2012. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  28. ^ Zoe Flood (29 June 2012). "Trouble in Timbuktu as Islamists extend control". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
  29. ^ Adam Nossiter (30 January 2012). "Islamists in North Mali Stone Couple to Death". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 31 July 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  30. ^ "Mali 'thief's' hand amputated by Islamists in Ansongo". BBC News. 9 August 2012. Archived from the original on 9 August 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  31. ^ "Islamist rebels gain ground in Mali, seize control of Douentza, ousting former allied militia". The Washington Post. 1 September 2012. Archived from the original on 11 December 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  32. ^ "Massacre of preachers in Mali sign of broken army". Archived from the original on 2014-12-17. Retrieved 2013-01-24.
  33. ^ Brahima Ouedraogo (24 September 2012). "Mali's secular Tuareg rebels splinter, new group says independence unrealistic". The Star Tribune. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 26 May 2024. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  34. ^ "Security Council paves way for possible intervention force in northern Mali". United Nations. 12 October 2012. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  35. ^ "U.N. Security Council asks for Mali plan within 45 days". Reuters. 12 October 2012. Archived from the original on 13 October 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  36. ^ "New fighting breaks out in northern Mali". France 24. 16 November 2012. Archived from the original on 20 December 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  37. ^ "North Mali clashes kill dozens, some unarmed: source" Archived 2013-02-01 at the Wayback Machine Google News (AFP), 20 November 2012
  38. ^ "UN Security Council Resolution 2085". United Nations. 20 December 2012. Archived from the original on 12 January 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  39. ^ "Mali Islamists capture strategic town, residents flee". Reuters. 10 January 2013. Archived from the original on 11 January 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  40. ^ "Mali – la France a mené une série de raids contre les islamistes". Le Monde. 12 January 2013. Archived from the original on 13 January 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  41. ^ "Mali : après la mort rapide d'un officier, l'opération militaire s'annonce compliquée". Le Monde. 12 January 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-01-13. Retrieved 2013-01-13.
  42. ^ "Britain to send aircraft to Mali to assist French fight against rebels". The Guardian. 12 January 2013. Archived from the original on 10 September 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  43. ^ "Mali: attaque des islamistes sur la route de Bamako". Le Figaro. 14 January 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-01-20. Retrieved 2013-01-24.
  44. ^ Cole, Alison (17 January 2013). "Mali and the ICC: what lessons can be learned from previous investigations?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 24 September 2013. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  45. ^ "Mali conflict: French 'fighting Islamists in Diabaly'". BBC News. 16 January 2013. Archived from the original on 17 January 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  46. ^ "Mali: Le Drian dément des combats au corps à corps... Vote du Parlement si l'opération française va au-delà de quatre mois, selon Hollande". 20 Minutes.fr. 17 January 2013. Archived from the original on 19 January 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  47. ^ "Mali army retakes key towns from rebels". Al Jazeera English. 18 January 2013. Archived from the original on 18 January 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  48. ^ "Mali conflict: French troops 'enter Diabaly'". BBC News. 21 January 2013. Archived from the original on 21 January 2013. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
  49. ^ "L'armée malienne affirme avoir repris le contrôle de Konna". Le Monde (in French). 18 January 2013. Archived from the original on 18 January 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  50. ^ "Mali Army Secures Central Town of Konna". Bloomberg. 18 January 2013. Archived from the original on 21 January 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  51. ^ "Residents in northern Malian town lynch Islamist: sources". Reuters. 19 January 2013. Archived from the original on 20 January 2013. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  52. ^ "Human Rights Watch: Mali's Army Killing Civilians In Town Of Niono". The Huffington Post. 19 January 2013. Archived from the original on 23 January 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  53. ^ "Islamists kill Nigerian soldiers heading to Mali". 21 January 2013. Archived from the original on 2015-01-14. Retrieved 2013-01-24.
  54. ^ "Mali : trois soldats français blessés dans un attentat, dont un grièvement". France Info (in French). 12 January 2018. Archived from the original on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  55. ^ "Mali : une groupe lié à l'EI revendique l'attaque contre des militaires français". Le Point (in French). 12 January 2018. Archived from the original on 12 January 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  56. ^ "Two customs officers killed in Mali 'jihadist' attack". News 24. 25 January 2018. Archived from the original on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  57. ^ "French VBCIs damaged in Mali". Jane's Information Group. 2 July 2018. Archived from the original on 3 July 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  58. ^ "Talataye (Gao) : 4 éléments du MSA tués et 3 blessés suite au passage de leur véhicule sur une mine". Kibaru (in French). 1 July 2018. Archived from the original on 1 July 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  59. ^ "Mali car bomb attack kills four civilians, wounds four French soldiers". Reuters Africa. 1 July 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  60. ^ "Al-Qaida Affiliate Claims Responsibility for Mali Attack". Voice of America. 2 July 2018. Archived from the original on 3 July 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  61. ^ Diallo, Tiemoko (January 9, 2020). "Twenty wounded in northern Mali rocket attack on U.N. base". Reuters. Twenty people were wounded on Thursday in northern Mali's restive Kidal region, including 18 U.N. peacekeepers from Chad, in a rocket attack on a military base for U.N., French and Malian forces, a U.N. spokesman said.
  62. ^ The Associated Press (January 26, 2020). "19 Killed in Attack on Mali Army Base Near Mauritania Border". Voice of America.
  63. ^ Diallo, Tiemoko; McAllister, Edward (January 29, 2020). Heritage, Timothy (ed.). "Mali plans to increase the size of its army to rein in jihadists". Reuters. Retrieved January 30, 2020. Mali will increase the size of its army by about 50% in a recruitment drive this year aimed at uprooting jihadist groups, Prime Minister Boubou Cisse said on Wednesday.
  64. ^ Binnie, Jeremy (February 19, 2020). "Mali deploys reconstituted battalions to the north". Jane's Information Group.
  65. ^ "Mali : les FAMa reprennent leurs quartiers à Labbezanga, à la frontière avec le Niger". 17 May 2020.
  66. ^ "Mali: Security forces kill Al-Qaeda leader in Kidal region on June 3". 6 June 2020.
  67. ^ Diallo, Tiemoko (14 October 2022). "Islamist militants in Mali kill hundreds, displace thousands in eastern advance". Reuters.
  68. ^ Associated, Press. "2 peacekeepers killed, 4 wounded in attack in Mali, UN says". The Washington Post.
  69. ^ "IS Jihadists Take Key Northeastern Village in Mali". The Defence Post. 12 April 2023.
  70. ^ "Mali's army says it's captured rebel stronghold of Kidal". Reuters. 15 November 2023.
Retrieved from "https://wiki.riteme.site/w/index.php?title=Timeline_of_the_Mali_War&oldid=1254774723"