Battle of Konna

Battle of Konna
Part of the Northern Mali conflict
Date10–18 January 2013
(1 week and 1 day)
Location
Konna, Mali
Result

Malian/French victory[1][2][3]

  • Islamists capture Konna and hold it for a week
  • Islamist advance is halted by French air-strikes
  • Malian army retakes Konna[3]
  • Beginning of French-led intervention in Mali
Belligerents

Mali Mali

 France

Islamists groups:

Ansar Dine
MOJWA
AQIM
Boko Haram
Commanders and leaders
Mali Dioncounda Traoré
France François Hollande
France Jean-Yves Le Drian		 Iyad Ag Ghaly
Omar Ould Hamaha
Abdel 'Kojak' Krim  †[4]
Hammadoun Kufa[5]
Souleymane keita
Strength

Mali 2,000 Malian Army soldiers, 30 armored vehicles

France 4th Special Forces Helicopter Regiment

Estimated 1,200 fighters
300 vehicles[6]
Casualties and losses

Mali 58 soldiers killed, 60 + injured (civilian/military estimate)[7][8]

France 1 pilot killed, 1 helicopter lost[8][9]		 50-150 dead[9]
~50 vehicles destroyed
15[8][7] civilians dead
Total: 149 killed overall[8][10]

The Battle of Konna was a battle in the Northern Mali Conflict in the town of Konna in central Mali. Various Islamic fundamentalist rebels fought with the government of Mali, the latter of which was supported by French soldiers participating in Operation Serval. This battle was among the first French engagements in their intervention in the Mali War.

The fighting began when rebel fighters disguised as passengers on a public bus infiltrated the town. The bus was stopped at a Malian army checkpoint on the outskirts of Konna. As soldiers entered the bus to search it the Islamists opened fire, killing the soldiers.[11] Additional rebels poured into the town. After several hours of fighting the Malian army was routed to its base, abandoning the town to the rebels and reportedly leaving several heavy weapons and armored vehicles behind.[6][12] Around 25 Malian soldiers were killed.[13]

An estimated 1,200 Islamist fighters advanced to within 20 kilometers of Mopti, a Mali military garrison town.[6][11][13][14]

The battle ended in a victory for the Malian government and France, with rebel fighters ejected from the town.

  1. ^ "L'armée malienne affirme avoir repris le contrôle de Konna". Le Monde (in French). 18 January 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  2. ^ "Mali Army Secures Central Town of Konna". Bloomberg. 18 January 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  3. ^ a b "Mali army 'regains Konna' as Nigerian troops arrive". BBC. 18 January 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  4. ^ "France masses troops in Mali, kills top Islamist leader". Archived from the original on 20 February 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  5. ^ "Comment les populations ont vécu la bataille de Konna et l'occupation des régions du Nord". maliweb.net. Archived from the original on 11 March 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  6. ^ a b c "France begins Mali military intervention". Al Jazeera. 11 January 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  7. ^ a b Thiénot, Dorothée (28 January 2013). "Mali: dans la ville libérée de Konna, "chacun cherche sa tête"". L'Express (in French). Retrieved 16 February 2013.
  8. ^ a b c d Irish, Bate Felix (12 January 2013). "France bombs Mali rebels, African states ready troops". Reuters. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  9. ^ a b "French Gunships Stop Mali Islamist Advance". AFP. 12 January 2013. Archived from the original on 14 January 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  10. ^ "Over 100 dead in French strikes and fighting in Mali". Reuters. 12 January 2013. Archived from the original on 12 January 2016. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  11. ^ a b "Mali: Malian Army, Islamist Groups Executed Prisoners - Human Rights Watch". February 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  12. ^ fr:Bataille de Konna[circular reference]
  13. ^ a b "Mali Islamists capture strategic town, residents flee". Reuters. 10 January 2013. Archived from the original on 11 January 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  14. ^ Aman Sethi (14 January 2013). "French troops deployed as Mali slips into chaos". The Hindu. Retrieved 16 November 2014.