| Battle of Ber (2013) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Mali War | |||||||
 View of Ber circa 2017 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Arab Movement of Azawad |  MNLA | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | Unknown 3 prisoners | ||||||
| 2 civilians killed, 4 wounded | |||||||
On April 21, 2013, clashes broke out in Ber, Mali, after fighters from the Arab Movement of Azawad seized the town from the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA).
The first major conflict between the Arab Movement of Azawad (MAA) and the MNLA occurred on February 23, when MAA fighters raided the town of In Khalil, which was then under control of the MNLA. [1] The MAA is comprised mostly of Tilemsi Arabs, and the MNLA is comprised mainly of Tuaregs. Ethnic tensions between the two groups increased in the late 2000s, particularly in Gao Region. [2]
On April 21, a Malian military source from Timbuktu stated unknown militants stormed the town of Ber, which was then under the control of the MNLA, but did not give any specifics. [3] MAA spokesperson Mohamed Ould Ramadane stated that the MAA launched the attack against the MNLA, chasing away an "armed band". Ramadane also restated the MAA's willingness to work with French and AFISMA. [3] [4]
Local sources stated that at least two civilians were killed in the battle, including a 15-year-old girl and an elderly man. A Tuareg resident of Ber stated four civilians were also injured in the battle. [5] The marabout's son was also kidnapped by the MAA, but the MAA claimed that he was holding a weapon at the time, and therefore a prisoner of war and not a hostage. [6] The French army, while present, did not intervene, instead flying planes over the town. [3]
The MAA left Ber on April 25, but kept fourteen armed pick-ups on the outskirts of the town. Ramadane claimed that the MAA was monitoring the city in search of gangs. [7]
The MAA attacked Ber again on May 5, raiding and looting several houses and shops. A truck and two pick-ups were seized. The MAA abandoned the town shortly afterward, and Burkinabe and Malian forces captured it afterward. [8] Burkinabe forces left Ber on May 7, leaving the town controlled by Malian forces. Twenty-three people suspected of being deserters from the Malian army were detained in Ber, but Malian forces later claimed to have released them. [9]
The MAA returned three Tuareg prisoners captured during the battle to the Mauritanian Army on May 16. [10]
Azawad, or Azawagh, was a short-lived unrecognised state lasting between 2012 and 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 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 militant 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 Battle of Aguelhok occurred when rebels from the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) and Islamists groups Ansar Dine and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb attacked a Malian army garrison base in the town of Aguelhok, Kidal Region of Northern Mali on 17 January 2012, as part of the larger Tuareg rebellion to seize all government bases in the region.
The Battle of In Khalil took place on 22–23 February 2013 and was part of the first stage of the Mali War.
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 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.
Ahmed al-Tilemsi, nom de guerre of Abderrahmane Ould El Amar was a Malian jihadist leader and drug trafficker who served as a founding member and senior figure of the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO) and a senior figure and alleged emir of al-Mourabitoun.
The Coalition of the People of Azawad, also translated as the Coalition for the People of Azawad (CPA) is a Tuareg political and military movement formed in 2014 during the Mali War.
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.
The Platform Movements of June 14, 2014 in Algiers, also called the Platform of Self-Defense Movements and colloquially known as Platform, is an alliance of pro-government armed groups during the Mali War formed during peace negotiations on June 14, 2014, in Algiers. Between 2021 and 2023, Platform joined the Coordination of Azawad Movements in the Permanent Strategic Framework for Peace, Security, and Development (CSP-PSD).
Mahri Sidi Amar Ben Daha, nom de guerre Yoro Ould Daha, was a Malian Arab warlord who fought in Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA) and the Arab Movement of Azawad's pro-government faction.
Abdou Aïssa, nom de guerre Sultan Ould Bady, is a Malian jihadist and drug trafficker. He co-founded the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA) with Hamada Ould Mohamed Kheirou and Ahmed al-Tilemsi, and founded Katibat Salahadin, a katiba within MOJWA that later reformed in the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara after Bady defected.
On October 16, 2014, clashes broke out between the pro-government GATIA miltiia and the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad in N'Tillit, Mali.
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.
On July 11, 2014, clashes broke out between pro-government militias led by GATIA and rebel militias led by the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) in Anefif, Mali. The battle was the first major confrontation between pro-government militias and rebel groups since the start of the Mali War in 2012.
The Popular Movement for the Salvation of Azawad or MPSA is an armed group active in northern Mali. It was founded on August 26, 2014, following a split from the Arab Movement of Azawad.
Between May 17 and 18, 2013, the town of Anéfis, at the time controlled by the MNLA, was attacked by the Arab Movement of Azawad's pro-government faction. The MAA captured the town, but quickly abandoned it. The battle occurred amid high tensions between Kunta Arabs and Lemhar Arabs.