Battle of Ifoghas

Battle of Ifoghas
Part of Operation Panther and the Mali War
Date18 February – 31 March 2013
Location
Result French/Chadian victory
Belligerents
 France
 Chad
Ansar Dine
MOJWA
AQIM
Boko Haram
Al-Mulathameen
Commanders and leaders
Gen. Bernard Barrera
Gen. Oumar Bikimo
Gen. Mahamat Déby Itno
Captain Abdel Aziz Hassane Adam [1]
Iyad Ag Ghaly
Ibrahim Ag Inawalen
Djamel Okacha
Abou Zeïd 
Abdelkrim al-Targui
Sedane Ag Hita
Units involved
 French Army
 Chadian Ground Forces
No specific units
Strength

1,400

1,400–1,500
400–600
Casualties and losses
France
3 killed
120 wounded

30 killed
unknown number wounded
200–300 killed
50 captured

The Battle of Ifoghas, also known as the Battle of Tigharghâr or the Battle of the Ametettai, took place from 18 February to 31 March 2013, during the Northern Mali conflict. The French army and the Chadian army fought armed Salafist jihadist groups led by Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and Ansar Dine. After being defeated in January in the Battle of Konna and the Battle of Diabaly, the jihadists abandoned Timbuktu and retreated into the Adrar Tigharghar, a mountain of the Adrar of Ifoghas in northeastern Mali, which has been their sanctuary for years. The French started quickly a pursuit, and they took control of the towns of Tessalit and Aguelhok and begun the operation Panther in the Tigharghar. The first clashes erupt on February 18 and are mainly concentrated in the Ametettai Valley. It is caught between two armored columns, one French to the west and another Chadian to the east, while the paratroopers manage to surprise the jihadists by attacking on foot from the north. The valley is taken on March 3 and jihadists begin to gradually abandon the Tigharghar. Excavation missions and some skirmishes, however, continue to take place the following days. The operations cease on March 31. The battle was a turning point in the war, as with the capture of the Tigharghar, the jihadists lose their main sanctuary in the Sahel as well as most of their military arsenal, taken from the Malian army or Libya .[2][3][4]

  1. ^ "Tribute to Captain Hassan Abdel Aziz Adam and his Men". Mali Actu. 23 February 2013. Archived from the original on 28 April 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  2. ^ "Dans les roches de l'Adrar de Tigharghâr, une bataille cruciale est engagée". Lemonde.fr. 28 February 2013. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  3. ^ Jean-Christophe Notin, La guerre de la France au Mali, Paris, Tallandier, 2014, p. 650
  4. ^ La-Croix.com (28 May 2013). "La bataille de l'Ametettai du général Barrera au Mali". La Croix. Retrieved 12 September 2018.