Battle of Konna

The Battle of Konna was fought between government forces of Mali and the Islamist Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA). On 10 January 2013, the Islamists captured the town of Konna in Mali, after fierce fighting with Malian forces. With French help, on 12 January, Mali claimed it successfully recaptured the town, leaving dozens of soldiers and a hundred Islamist fighters dead. Malian control was confirmed six days later.

Battle
On 10 January 2013, Islamist forces captured the strategic town of Konna, previously held by the Malian army. The battle began when rebel fighters, disguised as passengers on a public bus, infiltrated the town after passing a military checkpoint on the Konna-Gao road. After this, the bus was stopped at another checkpoint on the outskirts of Konna. As soldiers entered the bus to search it the Islamists opened fire, killing the soldiers. The heavily armed rebels exited the bus and destroyed the checkpoint as additional fighters arrived in a convoy of jeeps and pickup trucks and spread out across the town. After several hours of fighting the Malian army retreated, abandoning the town to the rebels and reportedly leaving several heavy weapons and armored vehicles. Several public executions took place during the Islamists occupation of Konna, according to Konna residents at least seven Malian soldiers were summarily executed on two separate occasions. Once Malian forces fled, a few soldiers took refuge in the homes of civilians in an attempt to blend in with the local population. However, on one instance two soldiers were caught and had their throats slit by Islamists fighters. The next day, five gravely wounded Malian soldiers being tended by Konna residents, were shot dead by Islamists. An estimated 1,200 Islamist fighters advanced to within 20 kilometers of Mopti, a Mali military garrison town. The French saw this as the first step for the militants taking over the South, so they launched an offensive with the Malian government to retake the town.

On 11 January, French Aérospatiale Gazelle helicopters from the Special forces (4th Special Forces Helicopter Regiment?) stopped an Islamist column advancing to Mopti. Four Mirage 2000-D jets operating from a base in Chad also conducted airstrikes. 12 targets were hit by the Mirages during the night between the 11th and the 12th. The French chief of army staff, Admiral Guillaud, announced that the Islamists had withdrawn from Konna and retreated several dozen kilometres to the north. The air strikes reportedly destroyed half a dozen Islamist armed pick-up trucks and a rebel command centre. One French pilot, Damien Boiteux, was killed after his attack helicopter was hit by ground fire during the operation. The helicopter was later written off as lost.

That night, the Malian army, backed by French troops, claimed that they had taken back control of Konna.

The Malian army announced they took full control of Konna and that over 100 Islamists were killed. AFP witnesses had seen dozens of Islamist corpses around Konna, with one saying he counted 46 bodies. The French stated four rebel vehicles were hit by their airstrikes, while the Malian army claimed nearly 30 vehicles were bombed. Several dozens of Malian soldiers and 10 civilians were also killed. A resident of Gao, the headquarters of the MUJAO, said that the city's hospital had been overwhelmed with dead and wounded. In all, one local resident said he counted 148 bodies in four different locations in the town, among the dead were 36 uniformed soldiers. Others wore traditional robes or turbans. However another resident claims that 25 Malian soldiers were killed by rebels in the initial fight for the town. Other ranges go as far as 58 soldiers killed, according to an unconfirmed military source.

A Malian lieutenant said that mopping up operations were taking places around Konna. French special forces were also reported to be on the ground. According to analysts, the French were forced to act sooner than planned because of the importance of Sévaré military airport for further operations.

However, on 15 January, the French defense minister confirmed that the Mali military had still not recaptured Konna from rebel forces, despite earlier claims that they did.

On 18 January, the Malian army released a statement claiming to have complete control of Konna again. The claim was confirmed by residents of Konna.