| February 2013 Kidal attack | |
|---|---|
| Part of Mali War | |
| Location | Aliou District, Kidal, Mali |
| Date | February 26, 2013 7:30pm |
| Target |  MNLA MIA (claimed by MIA) |
| Deaths | 8
|
| Injured | 11 |
| Perpetrator |  MOJWA |
On February 26, 2013, militants from MOJWA conducted a suicide bombing on fighters from the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) and Islamic Movement of Azawad (MIA) in Kidal, Mali.
Separatist Tuareg fighters rebelled against the Malian government in 2012, quickly capturing major cities such as Kidal and Ménaka in the north and east of the country. The rebels sought autonomy and independence from the Malian government, and many fought for the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad. Jihadist groups such as Ansar Dine and the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA), seeking an independent Azawad under Shari'a law, hijacked the rebellion and began attacking the more moderate MNLA and other separatist groups, along with launching suicide bombings against civilians.
At the time of the attack, the city of Kidal was under the control of the MNLA and the allied Islamic Movement of Azawad (MIA). French and Chadian forces controlled the Kidal Airport near the city. [1] Around 7:30pm on February 26, a Toyota Land Cruiser filled with explosives drove towards a checkpoint manned by the MNLA in the Aliou district of southern Kidal. The truck detonated about ten meters from the checkpoint, as the guards were preparing to check the driver and his vehicle for explosives. [2]
A Malian military source in Gao stated that the MNLA manned the checkpoint at the time of the attack, which was corroborated by an MNLA press release mourning the deaths of their fighters. [3] Alghabass Ag Intalla, the head of the MIA, claimed that the bombing took place at a checkpoint manned by his fighters. [3]
MOJWA claimed responsibility for the attack, but gave no further details. [4] Intalla claimed the deaths of four to six MIA fighters. [2] Local hospital sources reported that seven people were killed in the attack, and eleven others were injured. [2] An MNLA press release claimed the deaths of seven MNLA fighters and injuries of several others. The bodies of the victims were buried in a mass grave the next day. [5]
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 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 following is a timeline of major events during the Northern Mali conflict.
On 12 April 2013, four Chadian soldiers were killed, and five civilians were injured, in an attack by two suicide bombers affiliated with the MOJWA in Kidal, Mali.
The Azawad conflict has been a conflict in Northern Mali between the MNLA, a Tuareg nationalist group, and a coalition of Islamist groups. The conflict began when Northern Mali declared itself independent from the government, creating the unrecognized state of Azawad. The Islamists and MNLA formed an alliance in combatting the Malian government. An internal conflict sprung up over the imposing of sharia law in the new state and the MNLA distancing itself from the coalition to a democratic state. Islamists gained popularity amongst anti-Tuareg tribes which helped them overthrow MNLA authority in Gao. Both sides clashed repeatedly leading to the Battle of Gao, where the MNLA were driven from the North's two main cities, Gao and Timbuktu. The MNLA soon lost all of its strongholds in the North in a matter of months. They went into hiding secretly gaining support and strength. The beginning of 2013 led to the start of the French intervention in Mali that ousted the Islamists from the North's cities and brought back Malian authority. The MNLA supported the French and Chadian forces in military operations against Islamists' sanctuaries in the mountains. The MNLA recaptured several important towns in the Kidal Region but refused to disarm or hand them over to the Malian government. A series of Islamist-sponsored terror attacks plagued MNLA forces for siding with the French. Checkpoints and bases were targeted with suicide bombings that targeted MNLA members. A peace deal was reached with the Malian army in June that let the army transverse freely in MNLA-occupied zones that were under Malian jurisdiction. Ethnic violence sprung over the murder of a Tuareg Government officer's family. The MNLA responded by harassing and murdering Fulani civilians, who constitute a majority of Islamist rebels. The Islamists stepped up their attacks in one such instance massacring 30 Tuareg merchants. The MNLA has since been battling Islamists.
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 Islamic Movement of Azawad (MIA) was a short-lived rebel group advocating for Azawadian autonomy under Islamic law. The group was founded by Alghabass Ag Intalla, and emerged after a split from Ansar Dine following French intervention in northern Mali. The MIA was founded in January 2013, and merged into the High Council for the Unity of Azawad (HCUA) on May 19, 2013.
On January 28 and February 4, 2015, pro-government Imghad Tuareg GATIA fighters attacked a base staffed by Arab Movement of Azawad (MAA) fighters in Tabrichat, Mali.
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.
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.
On February 6, 2014, between thirty-one and thirty-five Imghad Tuareg civilians were massacred by Fulani militants that may have been connected to the jihadist outfit Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA) in and around Tamkoutat, Ménaka Region, Mali.
On December 14, 2013, Katibat Salahadin militants attacked Senegalese peacekeepers and Malian soldiers in the city of Kidal. Residents of Kidal stated that the attack was one of the most destructive since the beginning of the Mali War.
On October 23, 2013, Katiba Salahadin militants attacked Chadian peacekeepers in the city of Tessalit, sparking a battle between the militants and Chadian and French forces. The attack was the first attack by jihadists targeting MINUSMA peacekeepers during the Mali War.
On June 5, 2013, clashes broke out between the Malian Army and the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) in the village of Anefis. Malian forces entered and quickly captured the town, leading to diplomatic pushback from the MNLA.
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.
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).
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