Battle of Abala

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Battle of Abala
Part of Jihadist insurgency in Niger
DateMay 31 - June 1, 2017
Location
Abala and Bani-Bangou, Niger and Menaka Region, Mali
Result Allied victory
Belligerents
Niger
Mali
GATIA
MSA
France		 Islamic State in the Greater Sahara
Commanders and leaders
Unknown Mohamed Ag Almouner
Casualties and losses
6 killed, 1 missing 15 killed

Between May 31 and June 1, 2017, clashes broke out between Nigerien forces and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) near Abala, Niger. These clashes expanded to the Nigerien-Malian border near Bani-Bangou, and on June 1 the ISGS militants were confronted by French, Malian, and Tuareg militias when the militants fled towards Ménaka Region, Mali.

Background

Since it's emergence in October 2016 and it's first attacks on the Koutoukole prison and possibly Nigerien forces in Tazalit, the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara began conducting attacks along the Nigerian-Malian-Burkinabe tri-border area.[1] In late 2016 and early 2017, the group began more and more attacks on Nigerien forces, including at Bani-Bangou, Tilwa, and Wanzarbé.

Battle

The attack on Abala took place at 7pm on the afternoon of May 31. The jihadists attacked a patrol of Nigerien forces with 11 to 14 pick-ups, including at least two equipped with 14.5mm machine guns.[2][3] The jihadists were led by a commander named Mohamed Ag Almouner, known as Tinka.[4] The vehicles had been stolen from an earlier raid on Nigerien forces on Ayorou on May 11, leading the Nigerien forces present in Abala to believe that the jihadists were instead their comrades.[5][6] Fighting between the two groups ended at nightfall. The jihadists then retreated from the area with four newly captured vehicles.[3]

Nigerien forces continued combing and cleanup operations in the area following the attack, and fighting with the ISGS resumed the next day near Bani-Bangou on the Nigerien-Malian border.[3][6] The Nigerien Army deployed helicopters and recaptured two of the four vehicles.[7] French planes also were deployed to the area to combat the jihadists.[2][3] The ISGS militants fled to Ménaka Region of Mali, where they were confronted by Malian and French forces alongside the Tuareg militias of GATIA and the Movement for the Salvation of Azawad.[8]

Aftermath

AFP reported that four Nigerien National Guardsmen and two gendarmes were killed, and one soldier was missing.[2][7][3] The French Army stated on June 8 that the majority of the attackers were killed or wounded, and that some of the equipment stolen during the initial attack was recaptured.[9] RFI stated that fifteen jihadists were killed.[9]

The Islamic State in the Greater Sahara was accused of the attack.[3] In late June, ISGS leader Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi accused Imghad and Daoussahak Tuaregs of being accomplices of France and Niger, and threatened Moussa Ag Acharatoumane and El Hadj Ag Gamou, the heads of the MSA and GATIA respectively.[8][9] ISGS claimed responsibility for the attack on January 12, 2018, in a statement published in the Nouakchott Information Agency.[10]

References

  1. ^ "Examining Extremism: Islamic State in the Greater Sahara | Examining Extremism | CSIS". www.csis.org. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
  2. ^ a b c "Niger : six soldats tués dans une attaque à la frontière malienne". Le Monde.fr (in French). 2017-06-01. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Attaque meurtrière contre l'armée nigérienne près de la frontière malienne". RFI (in French). 2017-06-01. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
  4. ^ "Mali: mort de Mohamed Ag Almouner, un des chefs du groupe EI au grand Sahara". RFI (in French). 2018-08-27. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
  5. ^ "Niger : au moins huit soldats tués dans une attaque dans la région de Tillabéri". sahelien.com (in French). 2017-06-01. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
  6. ^ a b "Niger – Tillaberi : du matériel militaire emporté après l'attaque du poste d'Ayorou". sahelien.com (in French). 2017-05-12. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
  7. ^ a b "Niger: six soldats tués dans une attaque". Le Figaro (in French). 2017-06-01. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
  8. ^ a b Journal, Nordsud (2017-06-28). "Mali: Le chef djihadiste Al-Sahraoui accuse et menace les " Pharaons " des deux communautés du Mali". nordsudjournal (in French). Retrieved 2024-07-16.
  9. ^ a b c "Le chef jihadiste Al-Sahraoui accuse et menace deux communautés du Mali". RFI (in French). 2017-06-27. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
  10. ^ "وكالة نواكشوط للأنباء". وكالة نواكشوط للأنباء (in Arabic). Retrieved 2024-07-16.
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