Fafa skirmish
| Fafa skirmish | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Mali War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Mali France |
 Islamic State in the Greater Sahara | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
1 killed 2 injured |
9 killed 2 captured | ||||||
On July 17, 2019, Franco-Malian forces clashed with the
Prelude
Fafa is a small village near the tripoint area between Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. Throughout the
Skirmish
On July 16, 2019, a convoy of around ten Malian vehicles left the border post at Labbezanga on the way to Gao was ambushed between the villages of Fafa and Bentia.[1] At the time, Fafa was a hotbed of ISGS activity.[2] The Malian army sent out reinforcements from Ansongo and Labbezanga, and later French forces were dispatched.[2] Clashes broke out between the Franco-Malian contingent and ISGS, with the latter fleeing after an hour and a half of fighting.[3] As the jihadists fled, a French drone followed a motorcycle to a clearing with around fifteen ISGS fighters, and launched an airstrike.[3] Malian forces then launched reconnaissance missions at the scene of the fighting.[1]
Aftermath
The Malian government announced on July 18 that one soldier was killed, and two injured, in the initial ambush.[2][1] They also claimed five jihadists were killed.[1] That same day, the French government announced around ten jihadists were killed, with the French Armed Forces clarifying the toll of "nine dead, two captured, and numerous resources seized."[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e "Mali: un soldat tué et deux blessés dans une embuscade près du Niger". LEFIGARO (in French). 2019-07-18. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
- ^ a b c Lagneau, Laurent (2019-07-19). "La force Barkhane a mis hors de combat une dizaine de jihadistes lors d'une opération "d'opportunité" au Mali". Zone Militaire (in French). Retrieved 2023-09-11.
- ^ a b archive.wikiwix.com https://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/index2.php?url=https://www.defense.gouv.fr/operations/points-de-situation/point-de-situation-des-operations-du-11-au-18-juillet. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
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