Battle of Tinzaouaten | |||||||
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Part of the 2012 Tuareg rebellion | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Ansar Dine | |||||||
Strength | |||||||
50 | unknown | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
1 killed 10 captured 37 defected | 1 killed |
On February 8, 2012, [1] rebels from the separatist Movement for the National Liberation of Azawad [2] attacked a military outpost in Tinzaouaten located on the Algerian borderline. The battle led to the capture of the city by rebel forces of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad. A Malian government statement was released the following day declaring a "strategic withdrawal" from its base in Tinzaouaten. [3] A Malian soldier was killed. [4] Ten were captured and 37 defected and were retrieved by Algerian authorities.
On February 7, 2012, the city of Tinzawatene was attacked by the rebels. Malian forces managed to repel the initial attack after several hours of combat, but the city was captured by the rebels the next day. According to MNLA spokesman Hama Ag Sid'Ahmed, the separatists took control of two military camps in the city and took several military vehicles. The Malian army withdrew the garrison to Algeria, but denied defeat by referring to the move as a "strategic retreat". On March 20, Ansar Dine also claimed to have control of Tinzawatene. [5] [6]
According to the report released by the MNLA, more than 34 Malian soldiers fled to Algeria, 5 were wounded, 10 taken prisoner (including an officer), against a single wounded soldier on their side. The separatists also claimed to have captured several vehicles. Spokesman Hama Ag Sid'Ahmed, however, mentions both dead and injured in the ranks of the MNLA. According to an unnamed official Malian source, there was no fighting or loss of life as the army decided to abandon the isolated positions for tactical reasons. However, according to Reuters, the Malian government indicates in a statement on February 8 that one soldier was killed and two others wounded. [7] [8] [9] [10]
Azawad, or Azawagh, was a short-lived unrecognised state lasting from 2012 to 2013. Azawagh (Azawaɣ) is the generic Tuareg Berber name for all Tuareg Berber areas, especially the northern half of Mali and northern and western Niger. The Azawadi declaration of independence was declared unilaterally by the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) in 2012, after a Tuareg rebellion drove the Malian Armed Forces from the region.
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.
The 2012 Tuareg rebellion was the early phase of the Mali War; from January to April 2012, a war was waged against the Malian government by rebels with the goal of attaining independence for the northern region of Mali, known as Azawad. It was led by the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) and was part of a series of insurgencies by traditionally nomadic Tuaregs which date back at least to 1916. The MNLA was formed by former insurgents and a significant number of heavily armed Tuaregs who fought in the Libyan Civil War.
The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad or the Azawad National Liberation Movement, formerly the National Movement of Azawad, is a terrorist organization based in northern Mali.
The Battle of Gao was fought between the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) and the Islamist Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA), along with its ally Ansar Dine, in Gao between 26–28 June 2012. By the 28 June, Gao, Timbuktu and Kidal, the three biggest cities in the disputed secessionist region of Azawad within what is recognised as Malian territory, were under the control of Ansar Dine and its Islamist allies.
The Mali War is an ongoing conflict that started in January 2012 between the northern and southern parts of Mali in Africa. On 16 January 2012, several insurgent groups began fighting a campaign against the Malian government for independence or greater autonomy for northern Mali, which they called Azawad. The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), an organization fighting to make this area of Mali an independent homeland for the Tuareg people, had taken control of the region by April 2012.
The following is a timeline of major events during the Northern Mali conflict.
The Battle of Khalil took place on 22–23 February 2013 and was part of the Northern Mali conflict, the battle began on the 22nd with two suicide bombings.
On 31 January, at approx. 6:45 A.M, the Malian military cantonment in Niafunké comes under attack by elements of the MNLA. The military camp located in the town undergoes a fierce assault by rebels. A Malian soldier is reported killed. Next military reinforcements nearby are called in for assistance but are ambushed by rebels. After several hours of a standoff the MNLA relinquishes siege of the camp. Military casualties were 4 dead, and 6 wounded. The dead included a Malian army captain. Five MNLA members were killed. Two civilian students also died during the battle by stray bullets.
The Arab Movement of Azawad is an Arab military organization active in Azawad/northern Mali. Initially known as the National Liberation Front of Azawad, it was formed in early 2012, during the 2012 Tuareg rebellion. The MAA claims to be a secular, non-terrorist organization, whose main objective is to defend the interests of all the Arab peoples of northern Mali.
The battle of Goumakoura took place during the Tuareg rebellion of 2012. On February 24, 2012, a military camp of the Malian army was attacked by the MNLA. The attack was however repelled.
The first battle of Menaka is an attack led on January 17, 2012, by armed groups of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) and marks the beginning of the Tuareg rebellion of 2012. This is the first in a series of battles aimed a capturing most of the north Mali from the army by the rebels.
The battle of In Emsal took place during the Tuareg rebellion of 2012. On 20 January, a Malian military convoy that came to rescue the garrison of Aguelhoc was ambushed by rebels of MLNA, and terrorists of Ansar Dine and AQIM.
The ambush of Tinsalane occurred on February 11, 2012, when armed groups of Ansar Dine and the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) fought against a convoy of the Malian army who came to reinforce the troops besieged in Tessalit.
The first battle of Kidal took place during the Mali war. On 30 March 2012, the city was captured by rebel MNLA and Ansar Dine forces.
The Battle of Idelimane took place during the Internal Conflict in Azawad.
The Imghad Tuareg Self-Defense Group and Allies is an armed group in Azawad, Mali. Most of its 500 to 1,000 fighters are Imghad Tuaregs, and the group supports the Malian government.
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.
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.
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.
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