Battle of Tabarde

Last updated
Battle of Tabarde
Part of the Mali War
Date3–5 June 2018
(3 days)
Location
Tabarde, Ménaka Region, Mali
Result GATIA / MSA victory
Belligerents

AQMI Flag asymmetric.svg  ISIL

  • Islamic State in the Greater Sahara
Commanders and leaders
GATIA flag.svg El Hadj Ag Gamou AQMI Flag asymmetric.svg Amat Ag Assalate 
AQMI Flag asymmetric.svg Almahmoud Ag Akawkaw (POW)
Casualties and losses
3 killed, 3 wounded 6+ killed, dozens wounded or captured

The Battle of Tabarde was fought over three days from 3 to 5 June 2018, between ISIL militants and a Tuareg coalition that consisted of the Imghad Tuareg Self-Defense Group and Allies (GATIA) and the Movement for the Salvation of Azawad (MSA).

Timeline

On 3 June 2018, Tuareg GATIA/MSA fighters clashed with ISIL militants under the command of Amat Ag Assalate and Almahmoud Ag Akawkaw, in the Tabarde area of Mali's northern Ménaka Region. The two ISIL commanders were responsible for an earlier ambush on a Malian convoy in Inkadogotane in July 2017. The fighting lasted for three days, and afterwards, the Tuaregs claimed that three are their fighters were killed, while three others were wounded, and that at least six ISIL militants were also killed and many others were captured. [1] Weapons and vehicles were also reportedly captured by the Tuaregs. Almahmoud Ag Akawkaw was captured after the battle, while Amat Ag Assalate was killed during the fighting. [2] [3]

Related Research Articles

The May 23, 2006 Democratic Alliance for Change is a Malian Tuareg rebel group, formed in 2006 by ex-combatants from the 1990s Tuareg insurgency in Mali. In 2007, splinters of the organisation returned to combat in northern Mali, launching the Malian element of the 2007 Tuareg insurgency. Led by Ibrahim Ag Bahanga, this ADC faction continued to operate under that name, despite most elements remaining under ceasefire. In July 2008, most of these elements, along with much of the splinter following Ag Bahanga reached another accord with the Malian government in Algiers. Ag Bahanga and a faction of that group rejected the accord and fled to Libya. At the end of 2008, this faction returned to fighting, operating under the name Alliance Touaregue Nord Mali Pour Le Changement (ATNMC). The government of Mali has contended since 2007 that the Ag Bahanga faction of the ADC is a "band of marginals" who were "isolated from the heart of the Tuareg community", primarily motivated by lucrative Trans-Saharan smuggling operations operating from Ag Bahanga's home town of Tin-Zaouatene. Ag Bahanga and the other leaders of his faction contend that the government of Mali oppresses the Tuareg population of the north, and has repeatedly failed to live up to its agreements with the ADC and other groups. Outside observers have also speculated that internal rivalries between Tuareg from the Kel Adagh and the Ouilliminden confederations have frustrated peace attempts.

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References

  1. "Tuareg alliance claims more operations against ISGS in northern Mali | FDD's Long War Journal". FDD's Long War Journal. 4 June 2018. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  2. "Une alliance Touareg revendique plus d'opérations contre l'EI dans le Grand Sahara dans le nord du Mali". Intellivoire (in French). 5 June 2018. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  3. "Note d'Information de la coalition... - Mouvement pour le Salut de l'Azawad-MSA". Facebook. Retrieved 2018-06-09.