Battle of Bourem
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| Battle of Bourem | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Mali War | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Mali Wagner Group | |||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
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10 killed, 13 injured (per Mali) 97 killed, 5 prisoners, 39 vehicles destroyed, 15 vehicles captured (per CSP-PSD)[1] |
9 killed, 11 injured, 3 vehicles destroyed (per CSP-PSD) 46 killed, 20 vehicles destroyed (per Mali)[1] | ||||||
The Battle of Bourem occurred on September 12, 2023, when the Permanent Strategic Framework for Peace, Security, and Development (CSP-PSD) attacked the Malian Armed Forces and their Wagner Group allies in and around the small town of Bourem. The battle was the first major attack by the CSP-PSD on Malian forces since the Battle of Ber in August 2023.
During late 2023, tensions between the Malian junta that came to power in a 2021 coup d'état and the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA), a coalition of rebel groups that signed the Algiers Accords in 2015. On the night between August 4 and 5, 2023, a CMA post was attacked by Malian forces in Fooita.[2] The CMA denounced the deaths of two fighters, and accused the Malian junta and the Wagner Group of being behind the attack. Malian and Wagner officials did not respond to the accusations.[2] In the days that followed, CMA representatives left the Malian capital of Bamako.[3] Tensions between the CMA and junta came to a head between August 11 and 12, when Malian forces captured the MINUSMA base and surrounding town of Ber from CMA fighters just before MINUSMA evacuated the base.[4]
In the following weeks, tensions between the junta and Tuareg groups intensified. On September 8, the pro-government GATIA denounced the bombing of their base by Malian helicopters in Afawlawlaw, near Gao.[5] The next day, the CMA announced that they had shot down a Malian Sukhoi Su-25 jet in Tinouake, north of Gao after the jet had bombed CMA positions. The Malian Air Force denied that the jet was shot down.[6]
The CSP-PSD, a coalition of all rebel groups including the CMA and Platform, accused the junta and Wagner Group of multiple breaches of the ceasefire outlined in the Algiers Accords, and stated they would "adopt all measures in self-defense against the junta."[6] The Movement for the Salvation of Azawad, part of Platform, distanced itself from this statement.[6] On September 12, the CSP-PSD declared war on the junta.[7]