Battle of Ifoghas

Battle of Ifoghas
Part of Operation Panther and the Northern Mali conflict
Date 18 February – 31 March 2013 Location Adrar des Ifoghas, Kidal Region, Mali Result French/Chadian victory
Belligerents
France  Chad	Ansar Dine MOJWA AQIM Boko Haram Al-Mulathameen
Commanders and leaders
Gen. Bernard Barrera Gen. Oumar Bikimo Gen. Mahamat Déby Itno Captain Abdel Aziz Hassane Adam †[1]	Iyad Ag Ghaly Ibrahim Ag Inawalen Djamel Okacha Abou Zeïd † Abdelkrim al-Targui Sedane Ag Hita
Units involved
French Army  Chadian Ground Forces	No specific units
Strength
1,400 1,400–1,500	400–600
Casualties and losses
3 killed 120 wounded 30 killed unknown number wounded	200–300 killed 50 captured

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The Battle of Ifoghas, also known as the Battle of Tigharghâr or the Battle of the Ametettai, took place from 18 February to 31 March 2013, during the Northern Mali conflict. The French army and the Chadian army fought armed Salafist jihadist groups led by Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and Ansar Dine. After being defeated in January in the Battle of Konna and the Battle of Diabaly, the jihadists abandoned Timbuktu and retreated into the Adrar Tigharghar, a mountain of the Adrar of Ifoghas in northeastern Mali, which has been their sanctuary for years. The French started quickly a pursuit, and they took control of the towns of Tessalit and Aguelhok and begun the operation Panther in the Tigharghar. The first clashes erupt on February 18 and are mainly concentrated in the Ametettai Valley. It is caught between two armored columns, one French to the west and another Chadian to the east, while the paratroopers manage to surprise the jihadists by attacking on foot from the north. The valley is taken on March 3 and jihadists begin to gradually abandon the Tigharghar. Excavation missions and some skirmishes, however, continue to take place the following days. The operations cease on March 31. The battle was a turning point in the war, as with the capture of the Tigharghar, the jihadists lose their main sanctuary in the Sahel as well as most of their military arsenal, taken from the Malian army or Libya .^[2][3][4]