Battle of Tessalit

Battle of Tessalit
Part of the 2012 Tuareg rebellion
Date 18 January – 11 March 2012 (1 month, 3 weeks and 1 day) Location surroundings of Tessalit, Mali Result MNLA victory
Belligerents
Mali Malian Army	Azawad MNLA Ansar Dine AQIM
Commanders and leaders
Didier Dakou El Haji Ag Gamou Ould Meydou Kassim Goita	Bayes Ag Dicknane Abou Al-Tayyib
Strength
~800 regular soldiers 107 vehicles 6 BRDM several helicopters	600 fighters 30 vehicles (?)
Casualties and losses
32-49 soldiers dead 20+ wounded 62-71 captured 21 vehicles destroyed 6 vehicles captured 2 BRDM-2 captured 1 BRDM-2 destroyed	7-17 fighters dead 6-8 wounded 7 captured 1 vehicle destroyed

 Mali

 Azawad

The Amachach military base in Tessalit was defended by roughly 800 Malian soldiers commanded by Colonel Kassim Goita, with 1,500 refugees being mostly Tuareg women and children. The International Committee of the Red Cross was sent to help evacuate civilians and military families, but despite the approval of the MNLA, Malian authorities delayed the operation and it was never executed as a humanitarian source. Other Malian military forces in the region of Tessalit were led by Colonels' Didier Dacko, Ould Meydou, and the well respected Tuareg commander El Hagi Ag Gamou.

On 18 January, Tessalit itself came under attack by both MNLA and Ansar Dine rebels. According to Malian soldiers, fighters from AQIM were present.

On 22 January, the MNLA announced they had surrounded the Malian army base in Tessalit and expected all foreign military trainers to evacuate the premises. The Amachach military camp is located about fifteen kilometers from Tessalit itself. In a separate clash with the Malian army, two rebels were killed and a vehicle destroyed. By then, the number of MNLA fighters reached around 600 with reinforcements arriving from Libya and Niger.

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Wikipedia