Background
{{Further, History of Mali In the early 1990sTuareg rebellion (January–April 2012)
{{further, Tuareg rebellion (2012) The first attacks of the rebellion took place inCoup d'état
{{main, 2012 Malian coup d'état On 21 March 2012, soldiers dissatisfied with the course of the conflict attacked Defense MinisterContinued offensive
During the uncertainty following the coup, the rebels launched an offensive with the aim of capturing several towns and army camps abandoned by the Malian army. Though the offensive ostensibly included both the MNLA and Ansar Dine, according to Jeremy Keenan of theIslamist–nationalist conflict (June–November 2012)
{{main, Internal conflict in Azawad After the withdrawal of Malian government forces from the region, former co-belligerents Ansar Dine, MOJWA, and the MNLA soon found themselves in conflict with each other as well as the populace. On 5 April 2012, Islamists, possibly from AQIM or MOJWA, entered the Algerian consulate in Gao and took hostages. The MNLA succeeded in negotiating their release without violence, and one MNLA commander said that the movement had decided to disarm other armed groups. On 8 April, a mostly Arab militia calling itself theBattle of Gao and aftermath
{{further, Battle of Gao Clashes began to escalate between the MNLA and the Islamists after a merger attempt failed, despite the signing of a power-sharing treaty.{{cite news, url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-18224004 , title=Mali Tuareg and Islamist rebels agree on Sharia state , date=26 May 2012 , work=BBC News , access-date=27 May 2012 , url-status=dead , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121223052717/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-18224004 , archive-date=23 December 2012 Protests broke out on 26 June 2012 in the city of Gao, the majority of whose people are not Tuaregs (as opposed to the MNLA), but rather sub-Saharan groups such as the Songhay andTakeover of Douentza and Ménaka
On 1 September 2012, MOJWA took over the southern town ofForeign intervention (January 2013)
{{Main, Operation Serval, African-led International Support Mission to Mali, EUTM Mali {{See also, Timeline of the Northern Mali conflict Following requests from both the Mali government andMNLA realigns with the Malian Government
By December, the now displaced MNLA began peace talks with the Malian government and relinquished its previous goal of Azawadi independence in favor of a request for self-rule within Mali. After the French entry in January 2013, the MNLA spokesman in Paris, Moussa Ag Assarid (who had criticized the splinter group FPA months earlier for giving up on independence) declared that the MNLA was "ready to help" their former opponents in the fight against the Islamists. At this time, the MNLA controlled no big localities and was only strong in rural and desert areas near the borders with Mauritania, Algeria and Niger, having been driven off from most of its claimed territory by Islamist groups. After the declaration, the MNLA re-engaged the Islamist forces, and, with the help of one defecting Islamist faction, retook the cities of Tessalit and Kidal (the site of earlier pro-MNLA protests against the Islamists) in late January.{{cite news, url=http://www.lefigaro.fr/international/2013/01/28/01003-20130128ARTFIG00523-mali-les-touaregs-laiques-disent-avoir-repris-kidal.php , title=les touaregs laïques disent avoir repris Kidal , work=Le Figaro , date=28 January 2013 , access-date=28 January 2013{{cite news , url=http://www.voanews.com/content/french-forces-seize-control-outside-timbuktu/1592063.html , title=Reports: Islamists Lose Two Cities in Northern Mali , publisher=Voice of America , date=28 January 2013Battle of Konna and French intervention
{{further, Battle of Konna On 10 January 2013, Islamist forces captured the strategic town of Konna, located 600 km from the capital, from the Malian army. Later, an estimated 1,200 Islamist fighters advanced to within 20 kilometers of Mopti, a nearby Mali military garrison town. The following day, the French military launchedIn Aménas hostage crisis
{{main, In Aménas hostage crisis On 16 January, it was reported that a group of AQIM militants had crossed the border from Mali intoMalian northward advance
{{further, Battle of Diabaly, Second battle of Gao, 3rd battle of Gao, 4th battle of Gao, Battle of Khalil, Battle of Iminenas, Battle of Tin Keraten, Battle of Timbuktu, 5th Battle of Gao, 2nd Battle of Timbuktu, Battle of in Arab On 16 January, French special forces, along with the Malian army, began fighting small and mobile groups of jihadists inside the city of Diabaly, but the French defense minister has denied the presence of French troops fighting in Diabaly. On the same day, the government of Spain approved the dispatch of one transport aircraft to Mali for the purposes of logistical and training support. Meanwhile, the government of Germany authorized the contribution of twoBeginning of guerrilla phase
{{further, Battle of Ifoghas, Operation Panther (2013), Battle of Tigharghar, Attack on Kidal (2013), Battle of Djebok Islamist and Tuareg forces were reported to have retreated to the Adrar des Ifoghas, rugged badlands in northeastern Mali. Knowledge of and control over local sources of water is expected to play a vital role in continuing conflict in that area.{{cite news, title=Mali War Shifts as Rebels Hide in High Sahara, url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/10/world/africa/new-focus-in-mali-is-finding-militants-who-have-fled-into-mountains.html, access-date=10 February 2013, newspaper=The New York Times, date=9 February 2013, author=Adam Nossiter, author2=Peter Tinti On 19 February, France began a new operation (''Panther'') intended to subdue the region.{{cite news, url=http://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2013/02/21/actualidad/1361470537_795026.html, title=Malí: nuevos combates, más militares, author=Ediciones El País, work=EL PAÍS, access-date=17 December 2014, date=21 February 2013 Between 8 and 10 February, MUJAO – who had been harassing government forces from the outskirts since Malian and French forces took the city on 26 January – launched the first two suicide attacks of the war inU.N. Peacekeeping Force
Now that the bulk of the conflict is over and the need for extended military involvement is decreasing, France looks to the UN to take over with the peacekeeping force that had been suggested earlier in the conflict once it was a more stable situation. The operation was termedChadian withdrawal
On 14 April, Chadian president Idriss Déby Itno announced the full withdrawal of Chadian Forces in Mali (Peace deal
A peace deal between the government and Tuareg rebels was signed on 18 June 2013.Insurgency and Operation Barkhane
{{Missing information, section, the details of the events, date=April 2022{{Update section, date=August 2018 {{Main, Operation Barkhane The MNLA ended the ceasefire in September of the same year after government forces opened fire on unarmed protesters. Following the attack, MNLA vice-president Mahamadou Djeri Maiga remarked: "What happened is a declaration of war. We will deliver this war. Wherever we find the Malian army we will launch the assault against them. It will be automatic. The warnings are over." One of the MNLA's founders, Attaye Ag Mohamed, was also quoted as saying that the "political and military wings of the Azawad" had declared "the lifting of the ceasefire with the central government".2014–2015: Insurgents regroup, Islamic State taking part
{{Main, 2nd Battle of Kidal, March 2015 Bamako shooting, November 2015 Bamako hotel attack, 2016 Nampala attack On 20 February, Germany and France announced the shipment of elements of the Franco-German brigade to Mali to help train Mali troops. This is the first deployment of EU troops in Africa (as an EU contingent).2016–2017: Conflict spreading to neighboring countries, creation of JNIM
{{Main, 2017 Gao bombing, June 2017 Bamako attack, Inkadogotane ambush2018–2020: Conflict intensifies and French troops surge
In the first half of 2018, there was an increase in rebel attacks. As of July 2018, northern Mali was largely out of government control. In July 2018, three British RAF Chinook helicopters were deployed to assist with logistics and troop movement, to reduce the risks of ground transportation.{{cite news , url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/07/20/britain-risks-open-ended-conflict-mali-bid-protect-european/ , title=Britain risks 'open ended' conflict in Mali in bid to protect European security , last=Nicholls , first=Dominic , newspaper=Daily Telegraph , date=20 July 2018 , access-date=6 August 2018 On 13 February 2020, Mali government forces returned to Kidal after six years. On 6 April, militants attacked a2021–present: French withdrawal and Russian intervention
In the first days of January 2022, after several months of rumors and negotiations, several hundred Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group were deployed in Mali, as well as soldiers from the Russian regular army in charge of logistics or serving as instructors. This deployment leads to strong protests from France, the United States and the Coordination of Movements of Azawad. Mali is also asking for a revision of its defense agreements with France. For its part, ECOWAS adopted heavy sanctions on January 9 against the Malian junta. On February 17, France, the European countries involved in Task Force Takuba and Canada officially announced their decision to withdraw their forces from Mali. French President Emmanuel Macron declared on this occasion: "We cannot remain militarily engaged alongside de facto authorities whose strategy or hidden objectives we share neither". Russian mercenaries signaled themselves through exactions: on the night of March 1 to 2, at least 35 Fulani civilians were massacred by the Malian army and the Wagner Group 1388. On March 4, the Mondoro military camp was attacked by jihadists and at least 27 Malian soldiers were killed. For its part, the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara attacked on March 8 and 9 the localities of Tamalat and Insinane, near Ménaka, held by the MSA. The clashes left a hundred dead, including several dozen Tuareg civilians massacred by the jihadists. On August 15, 2022, French troops had fully withdrawn from Mali towards Niger, ending their presence in the country. On October 31, 2022, a decision was made to withdraw the contingent of Russian private military campaigns from the Republic of Mali.Casualties
{{See also, Casualty recording, Mali attacks2012
2012 fatalities – 133.{{verify source, date=October 20132013
2013 fatalities 9+: :September Timbuktu bombing – 2 civilians and 4 bombers killed. :23 October – civilians and 2 peacekeepers killed.2014
On 17 January, a Chadian MINUSMA peacekeeper was killed in an attack on a French-UN camp in Kidal. On 11 June, a car bomb killed four Chadian peacekeepers in Aguelhok. On 18 September, five Chadian MINUSMA peacekeepers were killed by a land mine. The Chadian government described the incident as "discriminatory" and said its soldiers were being used as "shields". On 23 October, two Chadian peacekeepers were killed in an attack in Tessalit.2017
On 5 May 2017, a rocket hit a MINUMSA base killing a Liberian soldier and injuring 7 other soldiers, including several Liberians and a Swedish soldier. On 18 June,2019
In a surge of attacks during October–November, over 100 Mali soldiers were killed. The attacks increased political discontent towards the government from the military community. The attacks also increased discontent towards the French peacekeeping forces located in the central part of the country. In response to the attacks, the military abandoned isolated outposts in the north.2020
In February 2020,2021
On March 17, at least 33 soldiers are killed and 14 others are wounded in an attack on a military post in Gao, Mali. On July 4, four Malian soldiers were killed in an ambush on their patrol near the town of Léré. No group claimed responsibility for the attack, which came as France resumed joint military exercises with members of the Malian Armed Forces, which had been suspended following the2022
On 22 January 2022, a French soldier was killed and nine were injured in a mortar attack on Barkhane military camp in Gao, northern Mali. In March 2022, government forces set siege to the town ofHuman rights concerns
{{Further, International Criminal Court investigation in Mali Following several reports of abuse from both sides, the prosecutor of theClaims against separatists and Islamists
In May 2012, Amnesty International released a report stating that the conflict had created Mali's worst human rights situation since 1960. The organization stated that fighters with the MNLA and Ansar Dine were "running riot" in Mali's north, and documented instances of gang rape, extrajudicial executions, and the use of child soldiers by both Tuareg and Islamist groups. On 3 April 2012, armed groups looted 2,354 tons of food from United Nations'Claims against Islamists
Ansar el Dine also blocked a humanitarian convoy bringing medical and food aid from reaching Timbuktu on 15 May, objecting to the presence of women in the welcoming committee set up by city residents;{{cite news, url=http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/islamists-block-first-mali-aid-convoy-to-timbuktu/ , title=Islamists block first Mali aid convoy to Timbuktu , date=15 May 2012 , agency=Reuters , access-date=16 May 2012 , url-status=dead , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120517064920/http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/islamists-block-first-mali-aid-convoy-to-timbuktu/ , archive-date=17 May 2012 after negotiations, the convoy was released on the following day. The group reportedly banned video games, Malian and Western music, bars, and football in Gao and ransacked alcohol-serving establishments in both Gao and Kidal. Islamist forces were also reported to have intervened against looters and ordered women to wear head scarves. The CNRDR's spokesman Amadou Konare claimed that "women and girls have been kidnapped and raped by the new occupants who are laying down their own law." The anti-slavery organization Temedt claims that ex-slaves were the first targeted for punishment by Islamist forces and that former masters have used the violence to recapture ex-slaves. On 29 July 2012, a couple was stoned to death by Islamists in Aguelhok for having children outside of marriage. An official reported that many people left the town for Algeria following the incident. On 9 August, Islamist militants chopped off the hand of an alleged thief in the town ofDestruction of ancient monuments in Timbuktu
During the conflict, Islamists also damaged or destroyed a number of historical sites on the grounds that they said were idolatrous, particularly in Timbuktu, aClaims against the Malian Army and loyalists
The Tuaregs and Arabs who lived in Bamako and elsewhere in southern Mali were subjects of a rash of ethnic attacks by black Malians (as opposed to Mediterranean Arabs and racially mixed Tuaregs), despite many of them being hostile to Azawad separatism as well as the Islamists. In fact, a large part of them actually had only recently arrived to the government-held south, fleeing the violence in the north.{{cite news, url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-18057916 , title=Mali coup: Tuaregs tell of ethnic attacks , date=17 May 2012 , work=BBC News , url-status=dead , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120830015611/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-18057916 , archive-date=30 August 2012 An incident arose on 8 September 2012 when a group of Malian soldiers detained 17 unarmed Tablighi preachers from Mauritania in Dogofry, north-east of Diabaly, while en route to a religious conference in Bamako and executed all but one of them without reporting to their own command. The Malian government expressed its condolences for the event, whichIn popular culture
Mali earned the first win in theCeasefire
ANotes
{{NotelistReferences
{{Reflist, 30emBibliography
* {{cite book, last=Comolli , first=Virginia , title=Boko Haram: Nigeria's Islamist Insurgency , date=2015 , publisher=Further reading
External links
{{commons category, Mali War