The ambush of Tinsalane occurred on February 11, 2012, when armed groups of Ansar Dine and the

National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad or the Azawad National Liberation Movement (Tamasheq: '; ar, الحركة الوطنية لتحرير أزواد ''al-Ḥarakat al-Waṭaniyat Litaḥrīr ʾĀzawād''; french: Mouvement nati ...

(MNLA) fought against a convoy of the Malian army who came to reinforce the troops

besieged Besieged may refer to: * the state of being under siege * ''Besieged'' (film), a 1998 film by Bernardo Bertolucci {{disambiguation ...

in Tessalit.

The ambush

On February 10, 2012, the Malian army launched an offensive to rescue the garrison of Amachach camp, near

Tessalit Tessalit is a rural commune and village in the Kidal Region of Mali. The village is the administrative centre of Tessalit Cercle (district). The village lies north of Adjelhoc and about from the Algerian border. The ''commune'' extends over ...

, besieged by the rebels. The army deployed on the ground 107

all-terrain vehicles An all-terrain vehicle (ATV), also known as a light utility vehicle (LUV), a quad bike, or simply a quad, as defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI); is a vehicle that travels on low-pressure tires, with a seat that is stra ...

, 6

BRDM BRDM is an initialism for ''Boyevaya Razvedyvatelnaya Dozornaya Mashina'', (RU Боевая Разведывательная Дозорная Машина), literally "Combat Reconnaissance Patrol Vehicle". The BRDM is a four-wheeled amphibious ve ...

s, as well as helicopters piloted by Ukrainian mercenaries. The ambush took place in Tinsalane, 20 kilometers south of Tessalit. According to Malian military sources, "The aim was to attract as many rebels as possible to the army, then to use combat helicopters to pound enemy positions (...) We chose to fight at Tessalit, because we could quickly transfer injured in Gao thanks to the airport that we control again since the weekend. " According to officers of the Malian army, more than 100 rebels have been killed, 50 taken prisoner and 70 vehicles destroyed. According to reports from sources close to the MNLA, on the morning of February 11, 2012, a convoy of Malian soldiers and militia departed the cities of Kidal and Anfif and moved towards Tessalit to strengthen the military forces of the besieged city. However, this convoy was ambushed by an MNLA brigade in Tinsalane. After several hours of fighting, the Malian forces fled, leaving 17 dead and 14 prisoners including commander Yousouf Ag Bougara. Six vehicles were destroyed and four captured. According to an MNLA spokesman, Hama Ag Sidahmed, the losses of the separatists were only 4 wounded. According to a resident of the city of Alkhalil, on the border with Algeria, the drivers of about 25 rebel vehicles were left wounded, and sought admission to Algerian hospitals. Fighting continued on 13 and 14 February, and the Malian army claimed it had managed to enter Tessalit, and refuel the Amachach camp, which the rebels denied.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tinsalane Battles of the Tuareg rebellion (2012) Kidal Region in the Mali War February 2012 events in Mali Battles involving the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad Battles involving Ansar Dine Battles of the Mali War involving Mali Ambushes of the Mali War 2012 road incidents in Africa Road incidents in Mali