Araouane clashes
Clashes began around the village of Araouane in Mali's Tombouctou Region, after French forces launched an attack against JNIM militants in the area. The initial and subsequent engagements were part of Operation Barkhane, the goal of which is to eliminate JNIM commanders in the region.[2]
Araouane clashes | |||||||
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Part of the Northern Mali conflict and Operation Barkhane | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Units involved | |||||||
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Strength | |||||||
unknown | unknown | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
none |
8 killed 2 captured |
Clashes
French forces fired on a JNIM vehicle in the Araouane area on 29 March 2018, killing two militants and capture one. It was later confirmed that one of the dead was Moroccan Said al-Maghribi, an AQIM-JNIM commander and explosives expert close to AQIM's regional leader and a senior leader of JNIM, Djamel Okacha.[3]
A second engagement was started by French forces on 6 April 2018, when they attacked JNIM militants in the same area, first with an airstrike and then with ground forces. The battle resulted in the death of JNIM Mauritanian commander Ayman al-Shanqiti, along with five other militants. One militant was also captured[4][5][6]
Aftermath
In response to the clashes, the JNIM attacked the MINUSMA base in Timbuktu Airport, known informally as the "super camp".[7][8][9] One MINUSMA peacekeeper was killed, whilst 14 others were wounded;[10] however, 15 militants were killed and the attempted raid was repelled.[11]
References
- Mr. Revinsky. "Mr. Revinsky on Twitter: "#Mali #AQ With this statement, #JNIM claims responsibility for the April 14th #Timbuktu attack. The aim was to avenge the death of Haidar Al Maghribi, Qouteiba Al Ansari and Abu Abdallah Ahmed Alchinguiti (they were killed between March and April 2018)."". Twitter.com. Retrieved 2018-06-05.
- "Intelligence Fusion - Africa on Twitter".
- "Une nouvelle opération «ciblée» attribuée à la force Barkhane au Mali - RFI". RFI Afrique (in French). 3 April 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2018-04-15. Retrieved 2018-04-14.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "مقتل القيادي الموريتاني في إمارة الصحراء محمد ولد نَنَّ (أيمن الشنقيطي) - أقــــلام حرة". www.aqlame.com (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
- "MENASTREAM on Twitter".
- "Several French soldiers injured in latest Mali attack - France 24". France 24. 15 April 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
- "Mali – Attacks on MINUSMA and Barkhane (14.04.18) - France-Diplomatie - Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères". diplomatie.gouv.fr. Retrieved 2018-04-17.
- "Militants killed at UN base". NewsComAu. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
- "UN chief, Security Council condemn deadly attack on peacekeepers in Mali | UN News". news.un.org. Retrieved 2018-04-17.
- "15 militants, one peacekeeper killed in attack on U.N. Timbuktu base: France". The Japan Times. 16 April 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2018.