At the beginning of 2019, French forces conducted several small operations in the Serma Forest, near Boni, in the Douentza Cercle.[1][2] These operations were carried out by the (GTD) Picarde group in concordance with another French group and the Malian Army (FAMa).[3] The main target was Katibat Macina, the central Malian front of Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin.[4]
The operation began on the night between January 4 and 5, after French helicopters backed by airstrikes attacked JNIM hideouts in the Serma forest.[1] In one of the airstrikes, several JNIM fighters were killed.[3] Days later, French commandos attacked the forest on the ground, discovering a training area and a logistics base. Several vehicles and caches of ammunition were seized.[3]
The French army later stated that around twenty jihadists were rendered combat-ineffective from the battle.[2][3] Of those, fifteen were killed in the battle, and five were captured.[5]
France
Katibat Macina
