Tin Telout ambush

On the morning of May 11, a convoy of Malian vehicles left Goundam for the regional capital of Timbuktu.^[3] Around 9:30am, when the convoy arrived near the Tuareg village of Tin Telout, the soldiers were ambushed by CMA fighters.^[4][5] Fighting broke out between the Malian forces and the Tuareg rebels throughout the town, and possibly the nearby town of Acharane.^[6] A source within MINUSMA reported that the ambush was carefully prepared by the CMA, aboard four vehicles.^[5] Ten civilians were caught in the crossfire of the attack, but none were killed or injured.^[2]

The head of an NGO in Timbuktu and a local security source told AFP that eight Malian soldiers were killed, ten were injured, and two Malian vehicles were destroyed. One CMA vehicle was destroyed as well.^[7] A CMA spokesperson told Reuters that twenty people were killed in the ambush.^[8] The Malian ministry of defense reported the night of May 11 that nine soldiers were killed and fourteen were wounded.^[3] The CMA stated that they did not suffer any losses in a May 12 statement. They also claimed the capture of three Malian vehicles and two were destroyed, and estimated that thirty Malian soldiers were killed or injured.^[9]

MINUSMA denounced a violation of the ceasefire agreed upon between the CMA and Malian government, and called for rebels to return to their original positions. Four days later, the Algiers Accords were signed.^[10][11]