Battle of Diabaly

Background

On 13 January, the French Air Force bombarded major Islamist towns throughout northern Mali. As a result of this hundreds of Islamists fled to the Mauritania border, where they launched a counterattack on the western town of Diabaly.

Timeline

On 14 January 2013, Islamists rebels began a counter-attack on Diabaly approximately, 400 km (250 miles) from the capital city of Bamako. Fighting began when dozens of Islamists vehicles poured into the village, home to a key military base, which had a garrison of 200 soldiers. Preparations for the battle started a few days after the French intervention began when Islamists sent reinforcements to the border town of Goma where from there instead of waiting for Malian troops to move into rebel-controlled territory, the Islamists decided to move south. At the edge of Diabaly, rebels deserted their trucks, leaving the road leading from Goma to Diabaly where Malian forces were awaiting the attack, and walked by foot south to the village of Kourouma and then to Alatola. Malian forces tried to block the rebels at Alatola but were defeated in a minor skirmish and pushed back to their base in Diabaly. Around 70 vehicles full of insurgents participated in the attack and another 50 arrived later. Fighting lasted for 10 hours until Malian forces left Diabaly in what the French minister of defense refers to as: "fierce fighting and resistance by the Malian army". It's unclear what exactly happened to the soldiers based in Diabaly, but a prominent jihadists leader, Oumar Ould Hamaha said that "there are many dead, and others fled on foot". A dozen soldiers were killed in the initial fighting.

After the army abandoned the Diabaly military base, armed gunmen went door-to-door searching for hidden soldiers or civilians linked in some way to the army. At least five soldiers were executed along with one civilian, in what jihadists leader Abou Zeid refers to as retribution for the massacre of 17 Islamists preachers committed by Malian soldiers stationed in Daibaly. According to another report, three heads of households were executed.

On the nights of 14–15 January, French Rafale, Mirage F1 CR, and Mirage 2000D fighter jets continuously bombarded dozens of rebel vehicles near Diabaly, at least five jihadists were killed and many more were wounded. Residents said the jihadists began staying in groups of 20 or so trucks, parking discreetly under trees to avoid French aerial bombardment. On 16 January, French fighter jets and helicopters continued striking targeted objectives while dozens of soldiers were deployed to the Diabaly area. The same day the French army was said to have engaged its ground forces in combat for the first time since the intervention began, however the French ministry of defense said the statement was not accurate.

On 17 January, a convoy of 50 armoured vehicles left Bamako overnight. Residents of Niono, 70 km south of Diabaly, said the French arrived overnight. A Malian security source told AFP that French special forces were fighting together "hand-to-hand" against the Islamists in Diabaly. A resident in Diabaly reported to have counted the bodies of at least three dead Malian soldiers lying on the side of the road and that the Islamists buried their dead next to the village cemetery. The mayor of Diabaly, Oumar Diakite reported to BBC news that there weren't any French ground forces near Diabaly, and only Malian forces were involved in the fighting. He also stated that the only French presence nearby, were those stationed in the town of Niono, co-ordinating with the Malian army.

On 18 January the Islamists reportedly fled dressed as civilians and abandoned dozens of heavy weapons and caches of guns and ammunition inside several residents homes.

On 21 January, Malian and French forces entered the town without resistance. Malian troops found that there military base lied ruins, looted by rebels and heavily damaged by French aerial bombardment, as the base served as the contemporary jihadists headquarters during the week-long occupation.