| Douna drone strike | |
|---|---|
| Part of Mali War | |
| Location | Douna, Douentza Cercle, Mali |
| Date | March 22, 2024 10pm |
| Weapon | Bayraktar TB2 |
| Deaths | 14 |
| Injured | 9 |
| Perpetrator |  Malian Armed Forces |
On the night between March 22 and 23, 2024, a Malian Army Bayraktar TB2 drone struck a madrasa in the village of Douna, Douentza Cercle, Mali, killing fourteen children and injuring nine others. The drone strike came several days after another strike in Amasrakad killed fourteen civilians.
The Douentza Cercle where Douna is located has been a hub for the Katiba Serma, a jihadist group that is part of Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM). [1] Douna itself is sometimes invaded by these jihadists, who are based in the Serma and Foulsare forests nearby. [2] The forests were closed to the population of Douna a week prior to the drone strike due to a Malian Army operation in the area. [3]
The Malian Army in recent months had also been launching indiscriminate drone strikes against civilian areas. On March 17, civilians in Amasrakad, Gao Region were hit by Malian drone strikes, killing 13 and injuring over a dozen others. [4] In February, Malian drone strikes targeted a wedding in Konokassi killing five people, and then killed five more when a funeral service was held for the wedding victims. [5]
Most madrasas in the Dogon country have class very early in the morning and very late in the evening. For evening classes, a fire is often lit to illuminate the area. On March 22 at around 10pm, students were gathered around the fire when the drone strikes hit. [6] Fourteen students were killed immediately, nine of whom were from the Ongoiba family. Two victims were from the Sawadogo family, and three were from the Maiga family. [7] Nine injured students were brought to hospitals in Mopti and Sévaré. [6]
The drone strike and publication of photos of the victims stirred up controversy within the Malian government and army. [6] JNIM condemned the attack in a March 25 press release and decried the use of Bayraktar TB2 drones. [8] A day prior, the emir of JNIM in Burkina Faso Djaffar Dicko called on Turkish politicians to hat the sale of Bayraktar drones to the Sahelian governments. [9]
On 16 December 2016, jihadists from Ansarul Islam and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara attacked a Burkinabe army outpost in Nassoumbou, Soum Province, Burkina Faso, killing twelve soldiers. The attack was the first claimed by Ansarul Islam, Burkina Faso's first homegrown jihadist movement that formed a month prior.
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.
The Mondoro attack took place on 4 March 2022, when al-Qaeda-linked jihadists attacked a Malian military base, causing heavy casualties.
On August 19, 2021, al-Qaeda-linked militants from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) ambushed Malian troops, with a shootout ensuing.
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.
The battle of the Serma Forest took place between January 4 and 9, 2019, led by French troops in Operation Barkhane against Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin.
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.
Operation Tiésaba-Bourgou was a joint Franco-Malian operation against Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin and Ansarul Islam near the Malian, Burkinabe, and Nigerien borders.
The raid on Dialloubé took place on February 23, 2019, and was an ambush by Franco-Malian forces against Katibat Macina.
On November 24, 2017, jihadists from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin ambushed Nigerien MINUSMA peacekeepers and Malian soldiers in the village of Indelimane, Mali.
The battle of the Serma Forest took place between French forces and Ansarul Islam and Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin jihadists between May 30 and June 1, 2017, in the Serma Forest in Mali.
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.
Between October 6, 2020, and October 22, 2020, Fulani militants from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin's Katiba Macina laid siege to the town of Farabougou, Ségou Region, Mali. The fighting initially began as an intensification of ethnic conflict between Bambara and Fulani militias, and escalated when Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin surrounded the city. As JNIM tightened the siege on the city, residents faced famine and drought. Mediation committees composed of leaders and elders from nearby villages attempted to negotiate the lifting of the siege, but Malian forces liberated it on October 22. Jihadists still held a large presence near the town for weeks to come.
The battle of Ber took place between August 11 and 12, 2023, between the Malian Armed Forces and the Wagner Group against fighters of the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA) and Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM). The battle was the first major confrontation between the CMA and Malian forces since the signing of the Algiers Accords, and led to the breakdown of the accords by late 2023.
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.
On December 12, 2023, jihadist militants from Katiba Macina, an affiliate of the al-Qaeda aligned Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM), attacked Malian forces in the town of Farabougou. The attack killed dozens of Malian soldiers and was the first major raid in the town by JNIM since the Siege of Farabougou in 2020.
On 26 May 2024, Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) jihadists attacked a Malian Army and Wagner Group base in Mourdiah, Koulikoro Region, Mali. The attack was repelled, and dozens of jihadists were killed.
Fahad Ag Almahmoud was a Malian Imghad Tuareg militant who served as the secretary-general of GATIA from its formation in 2014 until 2023, when he split from the group and formed his own faction of GATIA.
On March 31, 2024, jihadists from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin attacked Burkinabe forces in Tawori, Tapoa Province, Burkina Faso. Over seventy Burkinabe soldiers were killed and thirty-two civilians were killed during the attack and the subsequent massacre.