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Raid on Tin Biden

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Raid on Tin Biden
Part of Mali War
DateOctober 23-24, 2017
Location
Tin Biden wadi, Kidal Region, Mali
Result French victory
Belligerents
France Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin
Commanders and leaders
Unknown Ismail Ag Azbay  †
Casualties and losses
None 3 killed (per JNIM)
15 (per France)
11 captive Malian soldiers killed (per Mali and JNIM, denied by France)

The raid on Tin Biden occurred between October 23 and 24, 2017, between French forces of Operation Barkhane and Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin in the remote wadi of Tin Biden, Kidal Region, Mali. In the battle, French forces killed eleven Malian prisoners of war held captive by JNIM.

Prelude

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Due to harsh pressure and counteroffensives by French troops, Malian soldiers, and anti-jihadist Tuareg rebels, Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin, the al-Qaeda-aligned jihadist group, was in a state of guerrilla warfare with only a few permanent bases in the remote Adrar des Ifoghas mountains of northern Mali's Kidal Region.[1] Because the group had only formed months earlier, there was little to no cohesive structure.[2]

Raid

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The French government announced an "opportunity operation" in the Adrar des Ifoghas on the night between October 23 and 24th, 2017, against Ansar Dine fighters from JNIM.[3] The jihadists used the wadi of Tin Biden as a training camp.[4] The battle began when French Mirage 2000's dropped bombs on the site, and then dropped French commandos on the site.[5] The raid lasted for three hours, and ended at dawn.[5]

Aftermath and the killing of Malian soldiers

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On October 26, Patrick Steiger, spokesperson for the French army general staff, stated that fifteen jihadists had been either killed or captured, and that no fighters escaped.[6] Small arms, ammunition, and a flag were seized from the site, and a pick-up loaded with ammo was destroyed.[5] The French army had no losses.[5]

JNIM refuted these claims a day later, claiming that the airstrikes instead killed eleven Malian soldiers that had been captured in jihadist raids between July 2016 and March 2017.[7] JNIM also stated that Ismail Ag Azbay, the leader of the unit holding the Malian captives, was killed, along with two other JNIM fighters.[8][9] Azbay was a lieutenant of JNIM leader Iyad Ag Ghaly, and a senior member of Ansar Dine.[9] The group also offered to give the bodies to a "neutral body."[5]

A few days prior to the raid, the Malian hostages appeared in a video published by JNIM.[10][11] The French army refuted JNIM's claims as propaganda, but Malian soldiers interviewed by RFi stated that they recognized their comrades in the photos and videos published by JNIM.[9] Other Malian sources confirmed the deaths of the prisoners, but claimed they were shot by JNIM instead.[12] The Malian Ministry of Defense, in an October 31, 2017 press release, stated that the Malian prisoners were killed but did not mention who killed them.[13][14] The press release also stated that the soldiers were captured in the 2016 Nampala attack and the 2017 Boulikessi attack.[5]

The French army continued to deny that their airstrikes killed the Malian captives, with the French army stressing that the soldiers instead defected to JNIM.[15] The army also asserted that the raid was conducted after days of reconnaissance, and that in scouting, the fighters were homogenous and all JNIM.[16] Florence Parly, the French minister of defense, stated that "we had very good reason to think they were not hostages."[17] This was denied by Malian president Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, who stated that the Malian soldiers were indeed hostages and killed in the raid in a December speech.[18][19]

References

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  1. ^ "MINUSMA – Actors of Conflict in Mali | PKSOI". 2020-09-12. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
  2. ^ "Mali: Enabling Dialogue with the Jihadist Coalition JNIM". www.crisisgroup.org. 2021-12-10. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
  3. ^ Macé, Célian. "Quinze jihadistes d'Ansar Dine visés par un raid de l'armée française". Libération (in French). Retrieved 2023-11-29.
  4. ^ "French army denies killing kidnapped Malian soldiers in raid". AP News. 2017-10-27. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Paris dément une bavure au Mali". Le Monde.fr (in French). 2017-11-03. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
  6. ^ "Mali: 15 jihadistes «neutralisés» par les militaires de Barkhane et les forces spéciales". RFI (in French). 2017-10-26. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
  7. ^ "Mali : onze militaires retenus en otage apparaissent dans une vidéo – Jeune Afrique". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). Retrieved 2023-11-29.
  8. ^ "Kidal : JNIM annonce la mort de 11 soldats détenus en otage et de 3 jihadistes au cours d'une opération de Barkhane". kibaru.ml (in French). 2017-10-27. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
  9. ^ a b c Macé, Célian. "Des militaires maliens kidnappés par les jihadistes tués dans un raid de l'armée française". Libération (in French). Retrieved 2023-11-29.
  10. ^ "Mali : onze militaires retenus en otage apparaissent dans une vidéo – Jeune Afrique". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). Retrieved 2023-11-29.
  11. ^ "Mali: des nouvelles de 11 otages maliens diffusées dans une vidéo". RFI (in French). 2017-10-18. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
  12. ^ "Mali: controverse autour d'une opération de Barkhane dans la région de Kidal". RFI (in French). 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
  13. ^ "Raid français au Mali: Bamako confirme la mort de soldats captifs des djihadistes". Le Figaro (in French). 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
  14. ^ "Raid français au Mali: Bamako confirme la mort de soldats captifs des jihadistes". Maliactu. November 7, 2017. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  15. ^ "Mali: La France a tué des transfuges islamistes, non des otages". Yahoo News (in French). 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
  16. ^ "Mali: nouveaux éléments sur le déroulement du raid français à Abeibara". RFI (in French). 2017-11-09. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
  17. ^ "Florence Parly : « La force Barkhane restera le temps qu'il faudra » au Sahel – Jeune Afrique". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). Retrieved 2023-11-29.
  18. ^ "Les soldats tués lors d'un raid français au Mali étaient "bien des otages" , indique le président malien". Voice of America (in French). 2017-12-02. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
  19. ^ "Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta : « Le Mali est une digue. Si elle rompt, l'Europe sera submergée » – Jeune Afrique". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). Retrieved 2023-11-29.
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