Battle of Tabankort (2015)

Last updated
Battle of Tabankort (2015)
Part of Mali War
DateJanuary 16–20, 2015
Location
Tabankort, Gao Region, Mali
Result Platform-MINUSMA victory
Belligerents

Platform


Flag of the United Nations.svg MINUSMA

CMADrapeau.JPG CMA

Casualties and losses
5 killed (per Platform)
25+ injured (per MINUSMA)
11 killed (per CMA)
21 injured (per CMA)
26 killed (per Platform)

Between January 16 and 20, 2015, Platform and the Coordination of Azawad Movements clashed in the town of Tabankort, Gao Region, Mali. The clashes sparked a conflict between the CMA and the Dutch contingent of MINUSMA, which led to a controversial demilitarized zone.

Contents

Prelude

In July 2014, fighting broke out between the pro-government militias of Platform and the rebel Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA) coalition. Platform consists of the GATIA, the loyalist faction of the Arab Movement of Azawad (MAA) led by Yoro Ould Daha, and the Coordination of Movements and Patriotic Resistance Front (CM-FPR II), and the CMA consists of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), High Council for the Unity of Azawad (HCUA), and the MAA's dissident faction led by Sidi Ould Brahim Sidati. [1]

Following the fighting, Platform exercised control over Tabankort, and the CMA had control over the nearby town of Anefif. [2] Both sides accused the other of looting and other abuses against the civilian population of the other town. [3] On January 17, the CMA announced it had "Initiated a major operation aimed at dismantling" Platform. [3]

Battle

Between January 16 and 17, skirmishes broke out between Platform and CMA fighters in Tabankort, although no casualties were reported. [4] [5] The CMA, on January 19, held their positions in the town and asked the MINUSMA peacekeepers stationed there to leave. [6] The contingent, manned by Dutch peacekeepers, refused. [6]

On January 20, a Dutch helicopter intervened in a clash between Platform and the CMA, with the Dutch firing six missiles at an MNLA vehicle carrying heavy weapons. [7] [8] MINUSMA released a statement stated that it had been "forced to use force" after warning shots were not heeded. [9] The CMA denied firing on the peacekeepers, and accused MINUSMA of breaking neutrality. The CMA also threatened to void any security collaboration with MINUSMA, but would not break the ceasefire. [10] [11] Fighting continued that sameday between Platform and the CMA. [12]

Two hundred demonstrators occupied the Kidal Airport and threw stones at peacekeepers in the city following the attack. The protests ended the next day, and traditional leaders called for calm. [13] [14]

Aftermath

The CMA initially accused MINUSMA of the deaths of five fighters and the injuries of twenty others. [5] When the victims were brought back to Kidal on the 21st, eleven CMA fighters were killed and twenty-one were injured. [15] Platform claimed the loss of five fighters and two vehicles, and claimed to have discovered twenty-eight CMA bodies. [16] They also claimed to have destroyed fourteen rebel vehicles and weapons. [17] In its March 2015 report, the UN stated six GATIA fighters were killed and at least twenty-five Platform fighters were injured. [18]

On January 24, MINUSMA and the CMA agreed on a demilitarized zone between Anefif and Almoustarat that was ten kilometers wide. [19] [20] Residents of Gao protested against the zone, sparking clashes with Rwandan peacekeepers who opened fire, killing three civilians and injuring four others. [21] [22] The project was scrapped by MINUSMA on January 28. [23]

Related Research Articles

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coalition of the People of Azawad</span> Political and military party in Mali

The Coalition of the People of Azawad, also translated as the Coalition for the People of Azawad (CPA) is a Tuareg political and military movement formed in 2014 during the Mali War.

El Hadj Ag Gamou, born December 31, 1964, in Tidermène, Mali, is an Imghad Tuareg Malian division general. Gamou is currently the governor of Kidal Region since November 22, 2023, and has also been the head of his faction of Imghad Tuareg Self-Defense Group and Allies since the group's foundation. Prior to his governorship, Gamou served in the Malian army, commanding Malian troops against Ansar Dine and the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) in the early stages of the Mali War.

On July 26, 2017, clashes broke out between the pro-government GATIA Imghad Tuareg militia and anti-government Idnane Tuareg rebels from the Coordination of Azawad Movements.

On July 30, 2016, clashes broke out between GATIA and the Coordination of Azawad Movements in Touzik, Kidal Region, Mali.

The battle of Kidal took place between July 21 and 22, 2016 between GATIA, a pro-government militia consisting of Imghad Tuaregs, against the Coordination of Azawad Movements, consisting of Ifoghas Tuaregs.

The Algiers Accords, officially referred to as the Accord for Peace and Reconciliation in Mali, is a 2015 agreement to end the Mali War. The agreement was signed on May 15 and June 20, 2015, in Bamako, following negotiations in Algiers between the Republic of Mali and Coordination of Azawad Movements.

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 August 17, 2015, clashes broke out between pro-government GATIA militants and rebels from the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA) in the town of Anefis and surrounding areas. The dispute was settled in September.

On January 28 and February 4, 2015, pro-government Imghad Tuareg GATIA fighters attacked a base staffed by Arab Movement of Azawad (MAA) fighters in Tabrichat, Mali.

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.

On April 29, 2015, clashes broke out in Léré, Mali, between the Malian government and the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA) during stalled negotiations for the Algiers Accords.

Mahri Sidi Amar Ben Daha, nom de guerre Yoro Ould Daha, was a Malian Arab warlord who fought in Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA) and the Arab Movement of Azawad's pro-government faction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">N'Tillit clashes</span> 2014 armed conflict in Mali

On October 16, 2014, clashes broke out between the pro-government GATIA miltiia and the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad in N'Tillit, Mali.

Between July 19 and 22, 2014, pro-government rebels from GATIA and other militias clashed with rebels from the MNLA, HCUA, and dissident MAA in Tabankort, rural Gao Region, Mali. Clashes were paused after MINUSMA intervened.

On July 11, 2014, clashes broke out between pro-government militias led by GATIA and rebel militias led by the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) in Anefif, Mali. The battle was the first major confrontation between pro-government militias and rebel groups since the start of the Mali War in 2012.

On February 6, 2014, between thirty-one and thirty-five Imghad Tuareg civilians were massacred by Fulani militants that may have been connected to the jihadist outfit Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA) in and around Tamkoutat, Ménaka Region, Mali.

On November 8, 2013, clashes broke out between Malian forces and the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) in Amazragane, Ménaka 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.

References

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  20. "Communiqué - Mise au point de la MINUSMA". malijet.com. Retrieved 2024-02-18.
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