Battle of Iminenas

On 27 February 2013, French troops took control of the village of Iminenas. Islamists put up a fight but then retreated after the intervention of helicopters and armored personnel carriers. On March 2, 2013, a battle took place in Iminenas, 60 kilometers east of Gao. The confrontation lasted from 9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., according to the account given by the captain Diarra, a spokesman of the Malian army in Gao, Franco-Malian forces took no losses, but the jihadists had 52 killed. French airstrikes from helicopters and planes helped to repel Islamists.

A Malian soldier said of the battle, "I took part in the fighting at In-Manas (60 km east of Gao) Friday. We destroyed a base of MUJAO. They had a lot of deaths in their ranks. We returned to Gao, without loss in our ranks."