The Battle of Gao was fought between the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) and the Islamist Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA), along with its ally Ansar Dine, in Gao between 26–28 June 2012.^[1] By the 28 June, Gao, Timbuktu and Kidal, the three biggest cities in the disputed secessionist region of Azawad within what is recognised as Malian territory, were under the control of Ansar Dine and its Islamist allies.

Quick Facts Date, Location ...

Battle of Gao
Part of the Malian Civil War
Gao Battle of Gao (Mali) Above: Jihadists during fighting in the streets of Gao.
Date 26–28 June 2012 Location Gao Result Decisive Islamist victory Effective end of the self-proclaimed State of Azawad[1] Ansar Dine and MOJWA take over the largest cities of Azawad and the headquarters of the MNLA Timbuktu World Heritage Site destroyed by Islamists
Belligerents
Azawad MNLA	Islamists MOJWA AQIM Ansar Dine Boko Haram
Commanders and leaders
Bilal Ag Acherif (WIA) Colonel Bouna Ag Tahib † Machkanani Ag Balla Colonel Wari Ag Ibrahim †	Mokhtar Belmokhtar Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi Abdelhamid Abou Zeid
Strength
140–2,000	500+
Casualties and losses
4 killed 10 wounded 40 captured[1][2]	36 killed 14 wounded[1][2]
35 killed overall, including 3 Niger fighters, and 41 wounded[1]

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Two days later, parts of the World Heritage Site of Timbuktu had started to be destroyed, amid condemnation by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Mali and France. This was followed by criticism within the region and internationally with Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) suggesting it could send an armed intervention force into the country and the International Criminal Court (ICC) following Mali's lead in terming the acts as "war crimes." While MNLA also criticised the Islamists for holding civilians and destroying the structures, Ansar Dine said that the destruction was due to violation of sharia (their Najdi interpretation) and in reaction to UNESCO's labeling of the sites of Timbuktu and in Gao as "in danger."

Following previous Tuareg rebellions in 2007–2009 and the Libyan Civil War, in early 2012 the MNLA and Islamist movements captured northern Mali. Tensions then started between the MNLA and Islamist movements over the use of sharia law within the territory. Clashes started to erupt between both sides after a merge attempt failed,^[3] despite the signing of an accord to share power.^[4] On 25 June, the Islamist Ansar Dine took control of Kidal.^[5]

Protests broke out on 26 June in the city of Gao, the majority of whose people are not Tuaregs (as opposed to the MNLA), but rather sub-Saharan groups such as the Songhay and Fula peoples. The protestors opposed the Tuareg rebels and the partition of Mali. Two were killed as a result of the protests, allegedly by MNLA troops.^[6] The protesters used both Malian and Islamist flags, and France 24 reported that many locals supported the Islamists as a result of their opposition to the Tuareg nationalists and the secession of Azawad.^[7]

The forces involved were not known precisely. At the end of May 2012, the MNLA claimed to have 1,500 to 2,000 men in and around Gao, yet the movement recognized that several hundred of its fighters have deserted to join Ansar Dine, attracted by the financial gain they would gain by the terrorist group, and by the personality of its leader, Iyad Ag Ghaly. Towards the end of March or the beginning of April, French investigative journalists managed to enter Gao with the help of the MNLA, and they noticed that the MLNA controlled the Gao airport and the governorate, but that the city was mainly held by Islamists which were in control of most patrols. Regarding the number of fighters, they initially find the presence of fifty men at the airport, subsequently 300 gathered with pickups, a BM-21 and a BRDM-2. No planes were at the airport, just a damaged and unusable Mil Mi-24 helicopter. In mid-June 2012, Intallah Ag Assai, an MNLA colonel, said that the airport served as a base for their weapons and equipment, with more than half of their war material being seized from battles with the army. According to him the MNLA had 30 tanks in working order and 10 others in repair as well as a helicopter. The number of his fighters was 2,000, of which however half he recognized, were young recruits still inexperienced. The forces of the jihadists were even less known. Gao was mainly occupied by MUJAO, a group that had a total of 500 to 1,000 combatants, concentrated mainly in the Gao region. Fighters from Ansar Dine were also present, as well as a contingent of about one hundred men from Boko Haram and one of five katiba brigade-battalions from AQIM, katiba Al-Mouthalimin, commanded by Mokhtar Belmokhtar. Belmokhtar was suspected as the one who commanded the assault on the positions of the MNLA during the battle.^{[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]}

On June 25, 2012, a local elected official and teacher of the city, Idrissa Oumarou was shot at close range by strangers on motorcycle. This murder provoked the anger of the population, and the next day hundreds of people demonstrated in the city. The anger of the population overwhelmed by the regular deprivation of water and electricity and by insecurity soon turned against the MNLA's independence movement. According to testimonies the flags of the MUJAO were mixed with the Malian flags during the event. When the demonstrators arrived near the governorate, MNLA men opened fire to disperse the rioters, one or two protesters were killed and at least 12 to 14 wounded.^[18] Fighting began in the morning of 26 June, with both sides firing heavy weapons. MNLA Secretary General Bilal ag Acherif was wounded in the attack. After being extricated from the fighting, he was later taken to a hospital in Burkina Faso's capital city of Ouagadougou; while Colonel Bouna Ag Tahib, a defector from the Malian army, was killed. MOJWA soon took control of the Gao governor's palace as well as Ag Acherif's residence. A MOJWA spokesman stated that 40 MNLA troops had been taken prisoner.^[19][20]

The MNLA's Azawad Vice President Mahamadou Djeri Maïga acknowledged that they lost control of the city but said that the fight would continue. He asked for international help against Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), who he stated was responsible for the attack.^[20] The next day the MNLA were evicted from the city.^[21] Two videos seen by the Agence France-Presse (AFP) showed the black flag of jihad groups and some members of the group saying "Long Live Mali" and singing the national anthem of Mali, respectively.^[1]

Algeria's Ennahar TV reported that Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a founding member of AQIM, was probably killed during the battle.^[22] A previous death toll of 20 was later revised by doctors who added the number of dead found in the Niger River and the wounded who succumbed to their injuries.^[23] Thirty more Algerian fighters were said to have arrived in the city on 29 June to support AQIM and its leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar as the latter seeks to maintain a hold on the town and track MNLA fighters.^[24]