Battle of Garn-Akassa

In the late 2000s, jihadists from Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb had an extensive network of bases in the Adrar des Ifoghas of rural Kidal Region, Mali. Two weeks before the battle in Garn-Akassa, AQIM executed the English hostage Edwin Dyer, sparking international condemnation.^[1] A week later, AQIM assassinated the Malian colonel Lamana Ould Bou at his home in Timbuktu. Bou was considered AQIM's highest-priority target, as he had helped release several European hostages and contributed to the arrests of several high-ranking jihadist leaders.^[2]

The offensive against the jihadists in Garn-Akassa was the first major military operation conducted by Mali since the beginning of the AQIM insurgency in 2005.^[3] While little is known about what occurred, the offensive took place in and around the locality of Garn-Akassa, west of Tessalit and on the border with Algeria and Mali.^[4] A Malian security source stated that "when [they] took possession of the Islamist base, we counted 26 enemies killed. Some were even buried in a mass grave by the Salafists who fled."^[5][6] One source told AFP that it was "certain that Malians have taken control of a perimeter hitherto considered a zone of action of the jihadists. The reports reaching us show 16 deaths."^[5] The Malian army stated there were no losses within their ranks.^[7]