Battle of Ndaki
| Battle of Ndaki | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Mali War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Mali France | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Unknown | Almansour Ag Alkassam | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
Several dozen[1] 2 Tiger helicopters, 2 Mirage planes | 50 men | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
2 injured None | 1 killed | ||||||
Between October 16 and 17, 2018, joint Franco-Malian forces clashed with Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin in a forest near Ndaki, Mali.
Prelude
[edit]In 2017, five jihadist groups - Ansar Dine, Al-Mourabitoun, Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa, Katibat Macina, and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb - that initially rebelled against the Malian government amidst the Tuareg rebellion in 2012, merged to form Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin. JNIM grew in power in late 2017, and soon intensified operations in southern Gao Region and Mopti Region.
The Ndaki region is considered a hotspot for Katibat Macina activity, in particular Katibat 3A, named for their leader Almansour Ag Alkassam.[2][3]
Battle
[edit]A skirmish broke out between joint Franco-Malian forces in a forest near Ndaki on October 16. Around fifty jihadists attackd Malian forces in the forest from two sides.[3] Malian forces alerted nearby French forces in Operation Barkhane, who sent air support.[4] The French helicopters came under small arms fire from the militants, and the helicopter subsequently responded.[4] Ground troops were soon deployed, and the clashes continued into October 17. Patrick Steiger, spokesman for the French Armed Forces, stated that "tenacity of the terrorists...suggested that it was either a site important to them or someone important was present."[5][4] That leader was likely Alkassam.[5]
JNIM abandoned their camp on October 17, after which Malian and French forces seized the site.[4]
Aftermath
[edit]Two Malian soldiers were injured in the clashes, and one jihadist was killed. Steiger claimed that other wounded or killed jihadists were likely taken away by Katiba 3A overnight.[3][4]
References
[edit]- ^ https://www.rfi.fr/fr/afrique/20181018-mali-accrochage-le-nord-entre-armee-presumes-jihadistes
- ^ "AQIM emir confirms death of jihadist commander in Mali | FDD's Long War Journal". www.longwarjournal.org. 2018-12-12. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
- ^ a b c "Mali: accrochage dans le Nord entre l'armée et des présumés jihadistes". RFI (in French). 2018-10-18. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
- ^ a b c d e "Au Mali, intervention de la force " Barkhane " lors de combats entre l'armée et des djihadistes". Le Monde.fr (in French). 2018-10-18. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
- ^ a b "Le chef de la faction Al-Mansour Ag Alkassim visé dans un raid de Barkhane". RFI (in French). 2018-11-15. Retrieved 2023-10-13.