On July 16, 2019, a convoy of around ten Malian vehicles left the border post at Labbezanga on the way to Gao was ambushed between the villages of Fafa and Bentia.[1] At the time, Fafa was a hotbed of ISGS activity.[2] The Malian army sent out reinforcements from Ansongo and Labbezanga, and later French forces were dispatched.[2] Clashes broke out between the Franco-Malian contingent and ISGS, with the latter fleeing after an hour and a half of fighting.[3] As the jihadists fled, a French drone followed a motorcycle to a clearing with around fifteen ISGS fighters, and launched an airstrike.[3] Malian forces then launched reconnaissance missions at the scene of the fighting.[1]
The Malian government announced on July 18 that one soldier was killed, and two injured, in the initial ambush.[2][1] They also claimed five jihadists were killed.[1] That same day, the French government announced around ten jihadists were killed, with the French Armed Forces clarifying the toll of "nine dead, two captured, and numerous resources seized."[1]
Mali
France
Islamic State in the Greater Sahara
