Battle Of Timbuktu
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The Battle of Timbuktu occurred in
Timbuktu Timbuktu ( ; french: Tombouctou; Koyra Chiini: ); tmh, label=Tuareg, script=Tfng, ⵜⵏⴱⴾⵜ, Tin Buqt a city in Mali, situated north of the Niger River. The town is the capital of the Tombouctou Region, one of the eight administrativ ...
, Mali, in March 2013, between Islamist groups and Mali government forces supported by France. On the night of 20–21 March, a group of Islamist militants tried to infiltrate the airport. A car with armed men also tried to break into the city; however, French and Malian forces pushed them back.


Attack

The city of Timbuktu was guarded by the Malian army while about 150 French soldiers guarded the airport. Then, about 50 to 100 Islamists launched an attack from Bamba, west of Bourem, at March 20 at 10:19 pm. A suicide car bomber exploded himself on a road south of the Timbuktu airport. Camouflaged in the colors of the Malian army, the vehicle arrived near a checkpoint held by Malian soldiers. The attack killed one and wounded another two Malians. Shortly after, some 30 jihadists crossed the Mouamar Gaddafi canal and attacked the airport from the east. The shooting lasted several hours before dying out in the evening. Meanwhile, Malian troops were coming out of Timbuktu to help the French, but they crossed another group of jihadists. Three Malians were wounded from friendly fire. The French then asked the Malians to retreat to avoid further fratricide. At 1 am, the French bombarded Jihadist positions, leading them to retreat. The jihadists returned to the offensive the next morning, but after an hour of fighting, and after two attempted suicide attacks, they retreated. The attack was later claimed by MOJAO, but the French claimed that AQIM participated as well. Eight Malians were wounded and one killed, with the French giving estimates of 5 to 11 Jihadist killed.


See also

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Second Battle of Timbuktu The Battle of Timbuktu was a phase of the Northern Mali conflict, taking place in late March 2013, in which two Islamist attacks targeted the Malian army in Timbuktu. With help from the French, both attacks were prevented from capturing any signif ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Timbuktu, Battle of Conflicts in 2013 2013 in Mali
Battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
Battles involving France Mali War March 2013 events in Africa Battles in 2013