Raid on Tin Biden
| Raid on Tin Biden | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Mali War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 France |  Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Unknown | Ismail Ag Azbay † | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| None | 3 killed (per JNIM) 15 (per France) | ||||||
| 11 captive Malian soldiers killed (per Mali and JNIM, denied by France) | |||||||
The raid on Tin Biden occurred between October 23 and 24, 2017, between French forces of Operation Barkhane and Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin in the remote wadi of Tin Biden, Kidal Region, Mali. In the battle, French forces killed eleven Malian prisoners of war held captive by JNIM.
Prelude
[edit]Due to harsh pressure and counteroffensives by French troops, Malian soldiers, and anti-jihadist Tuareg rebels, Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin, the al-Qaeda-aligned jihadist group, was in a state of guerrilla warfare with only a few permanent bases in the remote Adrar des Ifoghas mountains of northern Mali's Kidal Region.[1] Because the group had only formed months earlier, there was little to no cohesive structure.[2]
Raid
[edit]The French government announced an "opportunity operation" in the Adrar des Ifoghas on the night between October 23 and 24th, 2017, against Ansar Dine fighters from JNIM.[3] The jihadists used the wadi of Tin Biden as a training camp.[4] The battle began when French Mirage 2000's dropped bombs on the site, and then dropped French commandos on the site.[5] The raid lasted for three hours, and ended at dawn.[5]
Aftermath and the killing of Malian soldiers
[edit]On October 26, Patrick Steiger, spokesperson for the French army general staff, stated that fifteen jihadists had been either killed or captured, and that no fighters escaped.[6] Small arms, ammunition, and a flag were seized from the site, and a pick-up loaded with ammo was destroyed.[5] The French army had no losses.[5]
JNIM refuted these claims a day later, claiming that the airstrikes instead killed eleven Malian soldiers that had been captured in jihadist raids between July 2016 and March 2017.[7] JNIM also stated that Ismail Ag Azbay, the leader of the unit holding the Malian captives, was killed, along with two other JNIM fighters.[8][9] Azbay was a lieutenant of JNIM leader Iyad Ag Ghaly, and a senior member of Ansar Dine.[9] The group also offered to give the bodies to a "neutral body."[5]
A few days prior to the raid, the Malian hostages appeared in a video published by JNIM.[10][11] The French army refuted JNIM's claims as propaganda, but Malian soldiers interviewed by RFi stated that they recognized their comrades in the photos and videos published by JNIM.[9] Other Malian sources confirmed the deaths of the prisoners, but claimed they were shot by JNIM instead.[12] The Malian Ministry of Defense, in an October 31, 2017 press release, stated that the Malian prisoners were killed but did not mention who killed them.[13][14] The press release also stated that the soldiers were captured in the 2016 Nampala attack and the 2017 Boulikessi attack.[5]
The French army continued to deny that their airstrikes killed the Malian captives, with the French army stressing that the soldiers instead defected to JNIM.[15] The army also asserted that the raid was conducted after days of reconnaissance, and that in scouting, the fighters were homogenous and all JNIM.[16] Florence Parly, the French minister of defense, stated that "we had very good reason to think they were not hostages."[17] This was denied by Malian president Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, who stated that the Malian soldiers were indeed hostages and killed in the raid in a December speech.[18][19]
References
[edit]- ^ "MINUSMA – Actors of Conflict in Mali | PKSOI". 2020-09-12. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
- ^ "Mali: Enabling Dialogue with the Jihadist Coalition JNIM". www.crisisgroup.org. 2021-12-10. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
- ^ Macé, Célian. "Quinze jihadistes d'Ansar Dine visés par un raid de l'armée française". Libération (in French). Retrieved 2023-11-29.
- ^ "French army denies killing kidnapped Malian soldiers in raid". AP News. 2017-10-27. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
- ^ a b c d e f "Paris dément une bavure au Mali". Le Monde.fr (in French). 2017-11-03. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
- ^ "Mali: 15 jihadistes «neutralisés» par les militaires de Barkhane et les forces spéciales". RFI (in French). 2017-10-26. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
- ^ "Mali : onze militaires retenus en otage apparaissent dans une vidéo – Jeune Afrique". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). Retrieved 2023-11-29.
- ^ "Kidal : JNIM annonce la mort de 11 soldats détenus en otage et de 3 jihadistes au cours d'une opération de Barkhane". kibaru.ml (in French). 2017-10-27. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
- ^ a b c Macé, Célian. "Des militaires maliens kidnappés par les jihadistes tués dans un raid de l'armée française". Libération (in French). Retrieved 2023-11-29.
- ^ "Mali : onze militaires retenus en otage apparaissent dans une vidéo – Jeune Afrique". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). Retrieved 2023-11-29.
- ^ "Mali: des nouvelles de 11 otages maliens diffusées dans une vidéo". RFI (in French). 2017-10-18. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
- ^ "Mali: controverse autour d'une opération de Barkhane dans la région de Kidal". RFI (in French). 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
- ^ "Raid français au Mali: Bamako confirme la mort de soldats captifs des djihadistes". Le Figaro (in French). 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
- ^ "Raid français au Mali: Bamako confirme la mort de soldats captifs des jihadistes". Maliactu. November 7, 2017. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
- ^ "Mali: La France a tué des transfuges islamistes, non des otages". Yahoo News (in French). 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
- ^ "Mali: nouveaux éléments sur le déroulement du raid français à Abeibara". RFI (in French). 2017-11-09. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
- ^ "Florence Parly : « La force Barkhane restera le temps qu'il faudra » au Sahel – Jeune Afrique". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). Retrieved 2023-11-29.
- ^ "Les soldats tués lors d'un raid français au Mali étaient "bien des otages" , indique le président malien". Voice of America (in French). 2017-12-02. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
- ^ "Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta : « Le Mali est une digue. Si elle rompt, l'Europe sera submergée » – Jeune Afrique". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). Retrieved 2023-11-29.