| Fafa skirmish | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Mali War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Mali  France |  Islamic State in the Greater Sahara | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 1 killed 2 injured | 9 killed 2 captured | ||||||
On July 17, 2019, Franco-Malian forces clashed with the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara near Fafa, in Mali.
Fafa is a small village near the tripoint area between Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. Throughout the Mali War, it has been subject to attacks and influence from jihadist groups such as Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara. The town is situated north of the Malian-controlled border town of Labbézanga, which was also used by French forces during Operation Barkhane.
On July 16, 2019, a convoy of around ten Malian vehicles left the border post at Labbezanga on the way to Gao was ambushed between the villages of Fafa and Bentia. [1] At the time, Fafa was a hotbed of ISGS activity. [2] The Malian army sent out reinforcements from Ansongo and Labbezanga, and later French forces were dispatched. [2] Clashes broke out between the Franco-Malian contingent and ISGS, with the latter fleeing after an hour and a half of fighting. [3] As the jihadists fled, a French drone followed a motorcycle to a clearing with around fifteen ISGS fighters, and launched an airstrike. [3] Malian forces then launched reconnaissance missions at the scene of the fighting. [1]
The Malian government announced on July 18 that one soldier was killed, and two injured, in the initial ambush. [2] [1] They also claimed five jihadists were killed. [1] That same day, the French government announced around ten jihadists were killed, with the French Armed Forces clarifying the toll of "nine dead, two captured, and numerous resources seized." [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.
The Takuba Task Force was a European military task force placed under French command, established to advise, assist and accompany Malian Armed Forces, in coordination with G5-Sahel partners and other international actors on the ground.
Ba Ag Moussa was a Malian militant and jihadist.
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 Battle of Andéramboukane occurred between 4 and 5 June 2022, during the Ménaka offensive of the Mali War. The pro-government militias Movement for the Salvation of Azawad (MSA) and Imghad Tuareg Self-Defense Group and Allies (GATIA) attempted to retake the Islamic State-held town of Andéramboukane but were unsuccessful.
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.
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.
Between December 20 and 21, 2019, French forces under Operation Barkhane launched an attack on Katibat Macina fighters in rural parts of the Wagadou forest near Wagadou, Mali.
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 battle of Abanguilou took place on December 19, 2018, between the Movement for the Salvation of Azawad (MSA) and their French allies against the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS).
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.
Between February 18 and 19, 2022, clashes broke out in Archam, Mali, near the border with Burkina Faso and Niger, between the Malian Army and unknown jihadists.
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.
Between October 16 and 17, 2018, joint Franco-Malian forces clashed with Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin in a forest near Ndaki, Mali.
Clashes at Inabelbel took place on June 22, 2018, between French and Malian forces against Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin.
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.
Between December 10 and 11, 2014, French forces ambushed militants from al-Mourabitoun near Tabankort, Gao Region, Mali. The ambush led to the death of Ahmed al-Tilemsi, the founder of MOJWA and a key figure in al-Mourabitoun.
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