| Battle of Tessit (2021) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Mali War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Mali  France |  Islamic State in the Greater Sahara | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 33 dead 14 injured | 20 dead (per Mali) | ||||||
Between March 15 and 16, 2021, Islamic State in the Greater Sahara fighters clashed with Malian and French troops over control of a Malian military base near the town of Tessit, with ISGS jihadists overrunning the coalition.
The attack on the military base began around midday on March 15, and was carried out by around 100 fighters on motorcycles and pickups. [1] A convoy of Malian vehicles and soldiers planned to depart the base towards Ansongo when the attack was carried out, the surprise of which splintered the Malian troops into two convoys. [2]
Following the news of the attack, two helicopters from Operation Barkhane departed towards the base, although the jihadists dispersed whenever the French forces arrived. [3] [1] The Islamic State had effectively destroyed the base, seen in photos published by ISGS on March 24. [4]
The day after the attack on the military base, Barkhane forces carried out airstrikes on ISGS positions. [1] On March 17, the Malian government stated 33 soldiers were killed and 17 were injured, and the bodies of twenty jihadists were discovered near the ruins of the base. [5] [1]
Operation Barkhane was a counterinsurgency operation that started on 1 August 2014 and formally ended on 9 November 2022. It was led by the French military against Islamist groups in Africa's Sahel region and consisted of a roughly 3,000-strong French force, which was permanently headquartered in N'Djamena, the capital of Chad. The operation was led in co-operation with five countries, all of which are former French colonies that span the Sahel: Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger. Mali was a part of the operation until August 2022. The countries are collectively referred to as the "G5 Sahel". The operation was named after a crescent-shaped dune type that is common in the Sahara desert.
An Islamist insurgency has been ongoing in the Sahel region of West Africa since the 2011 Arab Spring. In particular, the intensive conflict in the three countries of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso has been referred to as the Sahel War.
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 24, 2021, jihadists from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) launched simultaneous attacks on Malian troops stationed in the towns of Boulikessi and Mondoro, Mali. The Malian forces, combined with French weapons from Operation Barkhane, repulsed the JNIM attacks from both towns.
On June 14, 2020, dozens of Malian soldiers were killed in an ambush perpetrated by the al-Qaeda linked group Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM). The attack was one of the deadliest incidents in recent Malian history, and served as a precursor to the 2020 Malian coup d'état.
On April 6, 2020, jihadist militants from the al-Qaeda linked Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) attacked a secluded Malian military base in Bamba, killing dozens of Malian soldiers. A raid in retribution the following day killed JNIM leader Abu Yahya al-Jizari.
On March 19, dozens of Malian soldiers were killed at a military base in Tarkint in an attack perpetrated by the al-Qaeda linked Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM).
On November 18, 2019, Malian troops were ambushed by the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara during a patrol of Tabankort, in Ménaka Cercle, Mali.
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.
On July 17, 2019, Franco-Malian forces clashed with the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara near Fafa, in Mali.
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.
On June 9, 2018, jihadists from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin attacked Malian forces in the town of Boni, Mali.
The battle of Akabar took place on April 1, 2018, between French and Malian forces aided by Tuareg rebels against Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara.
On April 26 and 27, 2018, militants from the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara attacked two refugee camps near Andéramboukane, Ménaka, Mali, killing forty-seven people, mostly Tuareg civilians.
On June 17, 2017, jihadists from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin attacked Malian forces in Bintagoungou, Tombouctou Region, Mali.
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.
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.