| 2020 Tarkint attack | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Mali War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Mali |  Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown | Several dozen [1] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 29 killed 5 wounded [2] | Unknown | ||||||
On March 19, dozens of Malian soldiers were killed at a military base in Tarkint in an attack perpetrated by the al-Qaeda linked Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM).
On the morning of March 19, 2020, several dozen JNIM militants raided the base, arriving from three directions and overwhelming the Malian troops stationed there. [3] [4] It was not immediately known which group caused the attack, but on March 21 JNIM claimed responsibility. [5]
Initially, the Malian army reported two dead and ten wounded, but these numbers soon rose to 29 soldiers killed and five wounded. [6] An anonymous Malian military official claimed the death toll was closer to 30. [3] The bodies were taken to Bourem. [3]
There is little information regarding casualties of JNIM. In the statement claiming responsibility, the group claimed to have destroyed or captured stocks of weaponry from the base, corroborated by photos. [4]
An Islamist insurgency has been ongoing in the Sahel region of West Africa since the 2011 Arab Spring. In particular, the intensive conflict in the three countries of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso has been referred to as the Sahel War.
The Mondoro attack took place on 4 March 2022, when al-Qaeda-linked jihadists attacked a Malian military base, causing heavy casualties.
On February 3, 2021, Al-Qaeda-linked jihadists from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin attacked a Malian base in the remote town of Boni. French troops from Operation Barkhane came to the Malians' aid, and successfully repulsed the attack. The attack came in direct response to the recent Franco-Malian counteroffensive of Operation Eclipse.
On January 24, 2021, jihadists from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) launched simultaneous attacks on Malian troops stationed in the towns of Boulikessi and Mondoro, Mali. The Malian forces, combined with French weapons from Operation Barkhane, repulsed the JNIM attacks from both towns.
On October 13, 2020, jihadists from al-Qaeda linked group Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) attacked a Malian military base in Sokoura, Malian reinforcements attempting to relieve the troops at the base were ambushed by more jihadists at the bridge in Parou, with the ensuing firefight killing 12 civilians. The attack was the deadliest attack in Mali since Bah Ndaw took power in a coup in August.
On April 6, 2020, jihadist militants from the al-Qaeda linked Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) attacked a secluded Malian military base in Bamba, killing dozens of Malian soldiers. A raid in retribution the following day killed JNIM leader Abu Yahya al-Jizari.
The battle of Boulikessi took place between September 30 and October 1, 2019. Jihadists from JNIM and Ansarul Islam attacked Malian bases in Boulikessi and Mondoro, killing between 40 and 85 Malian soldiers, making it the deadliest attack for the Malian army since the Second Battle of Kidal in 2014.
On April 21, 2019, Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin attacked a Malian military base at Guiré, Mali, as revenge for the Ogossagou massacre.
The raid on Dioura was an attack on a Malian military base in the town of Dioura, Mali, by Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) on March 17, 2019.
The 2019 Aguelhok attack was an attack by Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin against the MINUSMA base in Aguelhok, Mali on January 20, 2019. At the time of the attack, the base was defended by Chadian and Bengali peacekeepers, and was later aided by French forces part of Operation Barkhane.
On January 27, 2018, militants from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin and the Coalition of the People of Azawad attacked a Malian military base in Soumpi, Mali.
On November 24, 2017, jihadists from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin ambushed Nigerien MINUSMA peacekeepers and Malian soldiers in the village of Indelimane, Mali.
On August 14, 2017, jihadists from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin attacked a MINUSMA base in Timbuktu, Mali.
On May 2, 2017, Malian forces were ambushed by Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin fighters near Dogofry, Mali.
The battle of Gourma-Rharous took place on April 18, 2017, between French and Malian forces against an attacking Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin.
On March 5, 2017, jihadists from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin attacked Malian forces in Boulikessi. The attack was the first by JNIM since its inception that month.
The battle of Ber took place between August 11 and 12, 2023, between the Malian Armed Forces and the Wagner Group against fighters of the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA) and Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM). The battle was the first major confrontation between the CMA and Malian forces since the signing of the Algiers Accords, and led to the breakdown of the accords by late 2023.
On November 24, 2023, jihadist militants from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) attacked Malian forces at Niafunké, Mali.
On December 12, 2023, jihadist militants from Katiba Macina, an affiliate of the al-Qaeda aligned Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM), attacked Malian forces in the town of Farabougou. The attack killed dozens of Malian soldiers, and was the first major raid in the town by JNIM since the Siege of Farabougou in 2020.
On February 28, 2024, jihadists from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin attacked the Malian military camp in Kwala, a village near Mourdiah, Mali. The attack was the first suicide car bombing by the group since 2022, and was part of a campaign by JNIM to expand influence in Koulikoro Region. Over thirty Malian soldiers were killed in the attack.