The Battle of Hamakouladji was a skirmish fought between a unit of the Malian army and
MOJWA
The Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (abbreviated MOJWA) or the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (abbreviated MUJWA; ar, جماعة التوحيد والجهاد في غرب أفريقيا ''Jamāʿat at-tawḥīd wal-jih ...
jihadists that took place in the Malian village of
Hamakouladji, located 40 km (25 miles) north of
Gao
Gao , or Gawgaw/Kawkaw, is a city in Mali and the capital of the Gao Region. The city is located on the River Niger, east-southeast of Timbuktu on the left bank at the junction with the Tilemsi valley.
For much of its history Gao was an impor ...
, in the municipality of
Tilemsi.
According to Colonel Kassim Goita, a senior commander in the Malian army around the Gao Region, clashes began at around 1:30 p.m and continued for a ten-minute period when a group of Malian soldiers pursued a suspicious man on a motorcycle after he failed to stop at an army checkpoint just on the outskirts of town for a routine identity check. The motorcyclist eventually gave way. While the motorcyclist was being searched and interrogated by soldiers an unidentified vehicle filled with gunmen surged forward spraying the troops with gunfire. This served as a temporary distraction allowing the motorcyclist to detonate the explosive belts he was wearing mortally instantly killing two soldiers and severely wounding four others. By 1:40 p.m, the MOJWA gunmen in the unmarked car were all reported killed supposedly before they had enough time to remotely detonate a car bomb.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamakouladji, Battle of
Battles of the Mali War in 2013
Gao Region in the Mali War
Battles of the Mali War involving Mali
May 2013 events in Mali