Battle of Nara (2015)

Last updated
Battle of Nara (2015)
Part of Mali War
DateJune 27, 2015
Location
Result Malian victory
Belligerents
Flag of Mali.svg Mali AQMI Flag asymmetric.svg Katiba Macina
Commanders and leaders
Unknown Abou Yehiya
Casualties and losses
3 killed
5 wounded
9 killed

On June 27, 2015, Katiba Macina militants attacked the Malian military base in Nara, Mali, and briefly captured the town. The attack was repelled by Malian forces.

Contents

Background

The Wagadou forest in northern Mali has been a hub of jihadist activity since the beginning of the Mali War, actively hosting encampments from al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Ansar Dine, and affiliated organizations. [1] Prior to the attack at Nara, the jihadists had been infiltrating the city for several days in preparation for the attack. [2]

Battle

The battle began when shots rang out in the center of Nara around 5am on June 27. [3] Motorcycles and trucks filled with jihadists overran the city, splitting into two groups. One group headed towards the Ould Issa base, where Malian forces were stationed near the Mauritanian border, and another traversed the city. [2] Towards the Ould Issa base, the fighters chanted "Allahu akbar!", and residents stated the fighters were both light and darker skinned. [2] Fighting between Malian forces and the jihadists lasted for four hours. [2] In neighborhoods close by the base, the jihadists shot sporadically at civilian homes, and Malian soldiers nearby urged civilians to stay at home. [2]

While the jihadists controlled the city with no resistance, they were eventually pushed out by Malian soldiers at the Ould Issa base. [3] The jihadists remained in a mosque and a local health center before fleeing. [3] Malian soldiers patrolled the streets for a short while afterwards. [3]

Aftermath

Perpetrator

A local official in Nara claimed that he had no doubt the attackers were AQIM, due to their clothing. He also remarked that with civilians, the jihadists were largely cheerful. [2] The attack was claimed instead that day by Katiba Macina, a Fulani nationalist jihadist organization affiliated with Ansar Dine. [4] [5] Malian security sources corroborated the Katiba's claim, and accused their second-in-command Abou Yehiya of planning and leading the attack. [6] [7]

Casualties

Katiba Macina claimed the deaths of seven fighters on July 5, in a statement where they claimed responsibility for the attack a second time. [4] The Malian government stated nine fighters were killed, and three soldiers were killed. [8] [9] The United Nations in their September 2015 report gave a toll of three Malian soldiers killed and five injured, and nine jihadists killed. [10]

Further reading

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katiba Macina</span> Militant group in Mali

The Katibat Macina, also known as the Macina Liberation Movement or Macina Liberation Front, is a militant Islamist group that operates in Mali. It is an affiliate of Ansar Dine.

<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.

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.

On 13 October 2016, jihadists from Ansar Dine ambushed Malian soldiers near Goumakoura, Mali.

On January 15, 2016, unknown militants ambushed Malian forces near Wanna, in Goundam Cercle, Mali.

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.

On October 28, 2015, a battle broke out in Tiébanda, Mali, between Katiba Macina militants and Malian forces.

On August 3, 2015, jihadists from Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) launched an attack on Malian forces in Gourma-Rharous, Mali. Eleven Malian soldiers were killed in the attack.

On August 7, 2015, jihadists from Al-Mourabitoun and Katiba Macina attacked the Byblos Hotel in Sévaré, Mali. The attack was one of the largest attacks against civilians in Mopti Region during the Mali War, and led to the deaths of thirteen people, including five civilians.

On July 16, 2015, the Malian army raided a jihadist base in the Sama Forest, in southern Mali's Sikasso Region. The raid is one of the few confrontations between jihadists and the Malian army in southern Mali, and marked the end of the Khalid ibn Walid katiba and jihadist expansion in southern Mali.

On July 2, 2015, a MINUSMA convoy was ambushed by jihadists affiliated with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb en route from Goundam to Timbuktu.

Mahmoud Barry, war name Abou Yehiya, is a Malian jihadist and second-in-command of Katiba Macina. Since 2022 he has been the spokesperson of Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin.

On May 11, 2015, a Malian convoy was ambushed by Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA) fighters in Tin Telout, Tombouctou Region, Mali. The ambush was the last conflict between the Malian government and CMA before the signing of the Algiers Accords.

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.

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.

Hamada Ag Hama, also known as Abdelkrim Taleb or Abdelkrim al-Targui was a Malian jihadist and emir of Katiba Al Ansar, a brigade in Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

On 14 December 2013, Katibat Salahadin militants launched a suicide car bomb attack on Senegalese peacekeepers and Malian soldiers in front of the Malian Solidarity Bank, located 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.

Souleymane Keïta was a Senegalese jihadist and the founder of the short-lived Khalid ibn al-Walid Battalion of Katiba Macina.

References

  1. says, Paddy Singh. "Malian military base targeted in southern Mali | FDD's Long War Journal". www.longwarjournal.org. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Mali: échanges de tirs à Nara, à la frontière avec la Mauritanie". RFI (in French). 2015-06-27. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Zonebourse (2015-06-27). "Une ville attaquée dans l'ouest du Mali, onze morts - 27/06/2015 | Zonebourse". www.zonebourse.com (in French). Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  4. 1 2 "Mali: The Ansar Dine group claims a series of attacks". Alakhbar. July 5, 2015. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  5. maliweb (2015-06-27). "maliweb.net - Ansar Dine revendique l'attaque de Nara". maliweb.net (in French). Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  6. "Mali : un chef d'Ansar Dine arrêté". BBC News Afrique (in French). Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  7. "Mali : La localité de Nara attaquée". BBC News Afrique (in French). 2015-06-27. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  8. "Mali: l'attaque de Nara, dans le centre, attribuée à des jihadistes". RFI (in French). 2015-06-28. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  9. "Communiqué du Ministère de la Défense sur l'attaque de Nara". malijet.com. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  10. "Rapport du Secrétaire général sur la situation au Mali" (PDF). United Nations Security Council. September 22, 2015. Retrieved February 5, 2024.