Battle of Timbuktu

The Battle of Timbuktu occurred in Timbuktu, Mali, in March 2013, between Islamist groups and Mali government forces supported by France.

On the night of March 20 to 21, a group of Islamist militants tried to infiltrate into the airport. A car with armed men also tried to break into the city, however, French and Malian forces pushed them back.

A few hours after the fighting began, a suicide bomber blew up a car bomb, the lights at the airport went out in Timbuktu. Camouflaged in the colors of the Malian army, the vehicle came close to Malian soldiers, the bomber caused an explosion that injured three Malian soldiers, one mortally. After the explosion, the Malian and French troops prepared for an attack, a suspicious vehicle was spotted by the French and they opened fire. However, it was a vehicle of the Malian army, three of its occupants are injured. During the clashes, two planes, Mirage 2000D intervened to support the troops on the ground. Fighting intensified after four in the morning but ended three hours later in the airport area. According to the French army, the attackers were about 50 in number.