2021 Aguelhok attack

Last updated
2021 Aguelhok attack
Part of Mali War
DateApril 2, 2021
Location
Aguelhok, Mali
Result Chadian victory
Belligerents

Flag of the United Nations.svg MINUSMA

Flag of Jihad.svg Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin
Commanders and leaders
Abdel Razak Hamid Barh  † Iyad Ag Ghaly
Abdallaye Ag al-Baka  †
Strength
Unknown ~100-200 men
Casualties and losses
4 dead
16 injured		 41 dead
5 POWs
2-3 civilians killed

On April 2, 2021, insurgents from the al-Qaeda-linked group Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) attacked a contingent of Chadian troops serving in MINUSMA, the UN's peacekeeping branch throughout the Mali War. The Chadian troops effectively repelled the JNIM attack, inflicting heavy casualties.

Contents

Attack

At 6:15 a.m. on April 2, around 100 to 200 jihadists launched a simultaneous attack on two positions at the MINUSMA base in Aguelhok. [1] [2] Some of the jihadists wore Chadian military uniforms to deceive the stationed soldiers, who were mostly Chadian. [3] French newspaper Le Monde stated that this attack was likely led by JNIM commander Iyad Ag Ghaly. [2]

The clashes at the base lasted three hours, with JNIM forces retreating after suffering heavy losses. [4]

Losses and aftermath

Four Chadian soldiers were killed during the fighting, according to a press release from MINUSMA. [1] [4] An anonymous Chadian military source confirmed the number of dead, and added that sixteen more soldiers were injured. Among the dead was Captain Abdel Razak Hamid Barh, who was killed after hitting a VBIED. [1] [3]

The UN initially estimated twenty jihadists were killed, out of a contingent of 100. [1] [3] However, they increased this number after further information in the following days showed over forty fighters were killed. [4] One of the dead fighters was alleged to be Abdallaye Ag al-Baka, former mayor of Tessalit turned right hand man of Iyad Ag Ghaly. [3] [4]

Malian media, along with the Coordination of Azawad Movements, claimed that Chadian soldiers killed multiple civilians during the fighting, and buried them with the jihadists. [5] [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin</span> Militant jihadist organisation

Jama'a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin is a militant jihadist organisation in the Maghreb and West Africa formed by the merger of Ansar Dine, the Macina Liberation Front, al-Mourabitoun and the Saharan branch of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. Its leaders swore allegiance to Ayman al-Zawahiri.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amadou Koufa</span>

Amadou Koufa, nom de guerre of Amadou Diallo, also spelled Hamadoun Kouffa or Amadou Kouffa is a Malian Fulani jihadist and preacher who founded Katiba Macina, later part of Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin.

Ba Ag Moussa was a Malian militant and jihadist.

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 26, 2020, jihadists from the al-Qaeda linked Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) attacked a Malian military base at Sokolo, killing over 20 Malian soldiers.

The Ménaka offensive was a series of offensives launched by the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara against the Malian Army, Tuareg self-defense groups including the Movement for the Salvation of Azawad (MSA) and Imghad Tuareg Self-Defense Group and Allies (GATIA), and the al-Qaeda-aligned Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin. The offensives took place in the Ménaka Cercle, in southeastern Mali.

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.

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.

Mohamed Ould Nouini, nom de guerre Abu Hassan al-Ansari was a Malian jihadist known for perpetrating the 2016 Ouagadougou attacks and the Grand-Bassam attack, along with his high position in Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin.

The Inaghalawass skirmish took place on February 14, 2018, between French forces and Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin fighters. In French airstrikes, former al-Mourabitoun commander Abu Hassan al-Ansari was killed.

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.

The raid on Tin Biden occurred between October 23 and 24, 2017, between French forces of Operation Barkhane and Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin in the remote wadi of Tin Biden, Kidal Region, Mali. In the battle, French forces killed eleven Malian prisoners of war held captive by JNIM.

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.

Between December 24–25, 2015, Ansar Dine militants attacked National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) positions in Talahandak, Mali. Ansar Dine captured the MNLA outpost, and then ambushed CMA reinforcements.

Haroun Ag Said, nom de guerre Abou Jamal, was a Malian Tuareg rebel and commander, and a close confidant of Iyad Ag Ghaly.

On 11 June 2014, a suicide bomber attacked the MINUSMA base in Aguelhok, Mali, killing several Chadian peacekeepers.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Quatre casques bleus meurent dans une attaque au Mali". Le Monde.fr (in French). 2021-04-02. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
  2. 1 2 "Avec la mort du président tchadien Idriss Déby, la France perd un allié clé de l'opération " Barkhane " au Sahel". Le Monde.fr (in French). 2021-04-21. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Mali: la Minusma réplique à l'attaque meurtrière d'Aguelhok". RFI (in French). 2021-04-06. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Mali: un chef djihadiste et 40 assaillants tués en attaquant un camp de l'ONU". LEFIGARO (in French). 2021-04-05. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
  5. ↑ "Mali : la Coordination des Mouvements de l'Azawad (CMA) accuse les Tchadiens de la Minusma de " chasse aux civils " après l'attaque d'Aguelhoc | Bamada.net" . Retrieved 2023-01-31.
  6. ↑ Assory (April 6, 2021). "Mali: Le regard d'Assory : Aguel Hoc: Y a-t-il eu des exécutions de civils ?". Maliactu. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
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