Battle of Ber (2023)

Last updated
Battle of Ber (2023)
Part of Mali War
Ber (Mali) 2017.jpg
The town of Ber circa 2017
DateAugust 11–12, 2023
Location
Ber and outskirts, Tombouctou Region, Mali
Result Malian victory
Belligerents

Flag of Mali.svg Mali
Flag of Russia.svg Wagner Group

Flag of the United Nations.svg MINUSMA

CMADrapeau.JPG CMA

Islamic State flag.svg JNIM
Casualties and losses
Flag of Mali.svg 7 killed, 8 injured (per Mali)
Dozens killed and injured, 1 prisoner (per JNIM)
Flag of the United Nations.svg 4 injured		 CMADrapeau.JPG None (per CMA)
Islamic State flag.svg 4 killed (per JNIM)
28 killed (per Mali)
Several civilians injured

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.

Contents

Background

In 2023, tensions between the Malian junta led by Assimi Goïta that took charge in 2021 and Tuareg rebel groups that were signatories of the Algiers Accords in 2015 rose dramatically. On the night between August 4 and 5, CMA fighters were attacked in Fooita, near Léré. [1] The CMA released a statement deploring the deaths of two of their fighters, and accused Malian forces and the Russian paramilitary Wagner Group of perpetrating the attack. [1] The Malian government and Wagner did not respond to the accusation. [1] On August 10, CMA representatives left Bamako. [2] [3]

Following a request by the Malian junta on June 30, 2023, the United Nations Security Council terminated the mandate of MINUSMA, the UN peacekeeping force that had been in Mali since the beginning of the Mali War. [3] MINUSMA peacekeepers began to leave Malian military bases in the months that followed. In Ber, the evacuation of the MINUSMA camp angered local CMA fighters due to the still-present threat of Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) jihadists. On June 9, a JNIM attack at the MINUSMA base killed two Burkinabe peacekeepers and seven others. In response, the CMA prevented Malian forces from taking control of the MINUSMA base in Ber. [4] [3]

Battle

The MINUSMA camp in Ber circa 2017 Camp MINUSMA Ber (Mali) 2017.jpg
The MINUSMA camp in Ber circa 2017

At the beginning of August, a column of eighty Malian vehicles crossed the city of Timbuktu with Wagner Group militants. [3] By August 11, the convoy was en route to Ber, fifty-six kilometers away. [1] On the way, the Malian troops fell into an ambush conducted by JNIM, sparking clashes that lasted for over an hour. [3] Parts of the Russo-Malian column took a different route to reach Ber, and arrived at a CMA position bordering a red line established between Mali and the CMA in 2014 around ten kilometers outside the city. [3] Clashes broke out around the red line, and the Malian Army retreated. [3] The CMA published a press release claiming to have repelled the Malian and Wagner forces, and denounced a "violation of ll arrangements and security commitments." [3] The Malian Army reported clashes with "terrorists", but did not mention the CMA. [3]

Fighting began the next day northwest of the city. [3] The Malian Air Force launched airstrikes against Ber, while the Burkinabe peacekeepers discreetly evacuated the MINUSMA camp three days before the deadline. [3] [5] Malian forces seized control of the MINUSMA camp in the afternoon of August 12, while CMA fighters retreated deeper into the city. Over the coming days, Malian forces enacted control over the entirety of Ber. [3] [6]

Aftermath

Casualties

The Malian Army released a statement claiming that the fighting left one Malian soldier dead and four others injured on August 11 and six dead and four injured on August 12. [7] The junta claimed that the "armed terrorist groups" left four bodies on August 11 and twenty-four bodies on August 12, along with eighteen AK-47 rifles and twelve motorcycles. [8] [7] The communique also claimed the destruction of three vehicles during the airstrikes. [8]

JNIM released a statement on August 12 claiming to have attacked Malian and Wagner forces, acknowledging the deaths of four jihadists and claiming to have caused "dozens of deaths and injuries" among the Malian and Wagner troops, along with the capture of a Malian soldier. [3] [7] In the statement, JNIM added photos of captured Malian equipment. [3]

The CMA released a statement claiming to have confronted Malian and Wagner forces, but did not take any losses. In fighting on August 12, a resident of Ber testified to Libération that several civilians were injured and a CMA vehicle was destroyed in Ber, but the CMA did not suffer any casualties. [3] [7] MINUSMA reported the injuries of four peacekeepers during two attacks carried out on August 12. [7]

Renewed conflict

The battle of Ber further weakened the deteriorating Algiers Agreement. The CMA threatened to launch a counterattack to capture the MINUSMA camp in Ber following the Malian seizure. [9] Negotiations between the CMA and Malian junta had already been at a standstill prior to the battle; neither side was interested in disrupting the status quo for years. [10] The Malian junta, however, had made the recapture of Mali's northern Kidal Region a priority. [3] [10]

The Malian Chief of Staff, Oumar Diarra, embarked on a tour of areas in Gao Region, Mopti Region, and Tombouctou Region, including the recently recaptured camp at Ber, between August 22 and 24. [11] In early and mid-September, the CMA and the greater Permanent Strategic Framework for Peace, Security, and Development (CSP-PSD) alliance launched attacks on Malian and Wagner forces at Bourem, Léré, and Taoussa. [10]

Related Research Articles

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The Strategic Framework for the Defense of the People of Azawad is a coalition of political and military movements in northern Mali that was formed on May 6, 2021, as an alliance of the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA) and Platform. In September 2023, Platform left the CSP-PSD due to the CMA's war with the Malian government. In April 2024, the CSP-DPA was renamed from the Permanent Strategic Framework for Peace, Security, and Development.

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On September 7, 2023, at least 154 civilians and fifteen Malian soldiers were killed when Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) militants simultaneously attacked a Malian military camp at Bamba and the civilian boat Tombouctou on the Niger River near the village of Banikane, Gourma-Rharous. The attacks prompted the Malian junta that took power in 2021 to postpone the upcoming 2024 presidential election indefinitely. The attack on the Tombouctou in particular was considered by Malian officials to be one of the deadliest terror attacks in the country's history.

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 as part of Operation Barkhane.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Timbuktu attack</span>

On August 14, 2017, jihadists from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin attacked a MINUSMA base in Timbuktu, Mali.

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On October 1, 2023, rebels from the CSP-PSD attacked Malian forces in Bamba, Gao Region, Mali.

The Kidal offensive was an offensive by the Malian government and Wagner Group mercenaries against the rebel coalition Permanent Strategic Framework for Peace, Security, and Development (CSP-PSD) with the aim of capturing the rebel-held region of Kidal. The offensive was part of a renewed conflict between the Malian junta that took power in 2021 and former Tuareg rebel groups that had signed the Algiers Agreement in 2015, creating a ceasefire and de facto rebel control over the region. The offensive was also an attempt by Malian forces to seize control over MINUSMA camps in Kidal Region after the Malian junta had ordered the mission to leave the country by the end of 2023.

The battle of Kidal took place between November 10 and 14, 2023, during the Kidal offensive in renewed conflict between the CSP-PSD and the Malian Armed Forces and allied Wagner Group mercenaries during the Mali War. The city of Kidal had been under rebel control since 2014, and the 2015 Algiers Agreement enacted a ceasefire and Kidal Region subsequently was de facto controlled by rebel groups. When Malian and Wagner forces captured the city on November 14, it marked the first time in nine years that all Malian regional capitals were fully under Malian government control.

On December 3, 2023, jihadists from the Islamic State – Sahil Province (ISSP) launched simultaneous attacks against Malian forces and allied Wagner Group mercenaries in Labbézanga, Gao Region, and against Tuareg militia groups in Ménaka Region.

On 26 May 2024, Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) jihadists attacked a Malian Army and Wagner Group base in Mourdiah, Koulikoro Region, Mali. The attack was repelled, and dozens of jihadists were killed.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Mali: les ex-rebelles de la CMA accusent l'armée et Wagner d'une attaque tuant deux de ses membres". RFI (in French). 2023-08-09. Retrieved 2024-04-23.
  2. ↑ "Mali : l'ex-rébellion touareg quitte Bamako, nouveau signe de tension avec la junte". Le Figaro (in French). 2023-08-10. Retrieved 2024-04-23.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Macé, Célian. "Nord-Mali : l'armée et les ex-rebelles croisent le fer à Ber". Libération (in French). Retrieved 2024-04-23.
  4. ↑ "Un groupe djihadiste revendique une attaque mortelle contre l'ONU au Mali". www.20minutes.fr (in French). 2023-06-13. Retrieved 2024-04-23.
  5. ↑ "Mali: la Minusma quitte le camp de Ber sur fond d'attaques jihadistes et de tensions avec les ex-rebelles". RFI (in French). 2023-08-14. Retrieved 2024-04-23.
  6. ↑ Laplace, Manon (August 24, 2023). "La bataille de Ber signe-t-elle le retour de la guerre entre Bamako et les anciens rebelles ?". Jeune Afrique. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 à 21h10, Par Le Parisien avec AFP Le 12 août 2023; À 21h28, Modifié Le 12 Août 2023 (2023-08-12). "Mali : six soldats tués dans une attaque djihadiste dans le Nord". leparisien.fr (in French). Retrieved 2024-04-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. 1 2 "Communiqué de L'Etat-major Général des Armées". abamako.com. Retrieved 2024-04-23.
  9. ↑ "Mali: les ex-rebelles entendent «déloger» l'armée malienne de Ber". RFI (in French). 2023-08-14. Retrieved 2024-04-23.
  10. 1 2 3 "Northern Mali: A Conflict with No Victors | Crisis Group". www.crisisgroup.org. 2023-10-13. Retrieved 2024-04-23.
  11. ↑ Coulibaly, Amadou Moussa. "THEATRES D'OPERATIONS : Le CEMGA sur le terrain pour évaluer la situation sécuritaire". www.fama.ml. Retrieved 2024-04-23.
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