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Araouane clashes
Part of the Mali War and Operation Barkhane
Date 29 March – 6 April 2018 (1 week and 1 day) Location Araouane, Taoudénit Region, Mali Result French victory
Belligerents
France	JNIM
Commanders and leaders
	Aymen al-Chinquiti † Said al-Maghribi † Qouteiba Al Ansari †
Units involved
French Army French Air Force	No specific units
Casualties and losses
None	8 killed 2 captured

Clashes began around the village of Araouane in Mali's Taoudénit Region, after French forces launched an attack against JNIM militants in the area. The initial and subsequent engagements were part of Operation Barkhane, the goal of which is to eliminate JNIM commanders in the region.

Clashes

French forces fired on a JNIM vehicle in the Araouane area on 29 March 2018, killing two militants and capture one. It was later confirmed that one of the dead was Moroccan Said al-Maghribi, an AQIM-JNIM commander and explosives expert close to AQIM's regional leader and a senior leader of JNIM, Djamel Okacha.

A second engagement was started by French forces on 6 April 2018, when they attacked JNIM militants in the same area, first with an airstrike and then with ground forces. The battle resulted in the death of JNIM Mauritanian commander Ayman al-Shanqiti, along with five other militants. One militant was also captured

Aftermath

In response to the clashes, the JNIM attacked the MINUSMA base in Timbuktu Airport, known informally as the "super camp". One MINUSMA peacekeeper was killed, whilst 14 others were wounded; however, 15 militants were killed and the attempted raid was repelled.

References

1. Mr. Revinsky. "Mr. Revinsky on Twitter: "#Mali #AQ With this statement, #JNIM claims responsibility for the April 14th #Timbuktu attack. The aim was to avenge the death of Haidar Al Maghribi, Qouteiba Al Ansari and Abu Abdallah Ahmed Alchinguiti (they were killed between March and April 2018)."". Twitter.com. Retrieved 2018-06-05.
2. "Intelligence Fusion - Africa on Twitter".
3. "Une nouvelle opération "ciblée" attribuée à la force Barkhane au Mali - RFI". RFI Afrique (in French). 3 April 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
4. "Mali : Cinq jihadistes tués par les forces françaises". Archived from the original on 2018-04-15. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
5. "مقتل القيادي الموريتاني في إمارة الصحراء محمد ولد نَنَّ (أيمن الشنقيطي) - أقــــلام حرة". www.aqlame.com (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
6. "MENASTREAM on Twitter".
7. "Several French soldiers injured in latest Mali attack - France 24". France 24. 15 April 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
8. "Mali – Attacks on MINUSMA and Barkhane (14.04.18) - France-Diplomatie - Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères". diplomatie.gouv.fr. Retrieved 2018-04-17.
9. "Militants killed at UN base". NewsComAu. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
10. "UN chief, Security Council condemn deadly attack on peacekeepers in Mali | UN News". news.un.org. 15 April 2018. Retrieved 2018-04-17.
11. "15 militants, one peacekeeper killed in attack on U.N. Timbuktu base: France". The Japan Times. 16 April 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2018.

• Battles of the Mali War in 2018
• Battles of the Mali War involving France
• Taoudénit Region in the Mali War
• Battles involving Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin
• March 2018 events in Mali
• April 2018 events in Mali