| Raid on Dioura (2019) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Mali War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Mali | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Mohamed Sidati Ould Cheikh † | Amadou Koufa | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| ~100 | Several dozen | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
26 killed (per Mali and UN) 17 injured | 3 killed (per JNIM) | ||||||
The raid on Dioura was an attack on a Malian military base in the town of Dioura, Mali, by Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) on March 17, 2019.
The town of Dioura is located in the west of Mali's Mopti Region. Throughout the late 2010s, the region had been a hotspot for Katibat Macina attacks, a group affiliated with JNIM. However, western Mopti had less frequent attacks compared to eastern Mopti.[1] At the time of the attack, the Malian base in the village was defended by a company of the Malian Army commanded by Mohamed Sidati Ould Cheikh.[2] Later, JNIM stated that Amadou Koufa led the raid on Dioura, in contrast to the Malian Army's claims that the raid was led by Ba Ag Moussa.[3]
The attack began on the morning of March 17, around 6am local time.[2] Several dozen jihadists launched the attack aboard pickups and motorcycles.[4] Some attackers infiltrated the town of Dioura prior to the fighting.[5] The raid began after an explosive-laden motorcycle driven by a suicide bomber rammed into the Dioura camp.[6] The camp was then attacked from the north and the southeast.[5] Malian soldiers at the camp put up a resistance that lasted several hours.[6] The jihadists then set several vehicles, including tank trucks and ammo storage, alight.[6] Around 4pm, the Malian government announced it had regained control of the Dioura camp.[2]
On March 18, the Malian government announced a provisional death toll of 23 killed and 17 wounded, with no Malian troops taken prisoner.[7] Several soldiers who were initially declared missing were later found in villages around 20 kilometers from Dioura.[7] A military source and local official stated the death toll was 21 Malian soldiers killed.[2] The Malian opposition, Front for the Safeguard of Democracy, announced a toll of over 20 killed, along with twenty missing, eight vehicles burned, and eight vehicles captured.[2]
The commander of the Malian forces, Mohamed Sidati Ould Cheikh, was killed in the battle. The bodies were buried on March 18 near Dioura.[2] On March 21, new bodies had been discovered, with the Malian government updating the death toll to 26 killed.[8] This was corroborated in a May 31, 2019 MINUSMA report.[9]
JNIM claimed that three of their fighters had been killed, along with the deaths of 30 Malian soldiers.[10] The group also claimed the capture of several vehicles and a cache of weapons.[11]
The raid on Dioura was the deadliest day for the Malian army since the Second Battle of Kidal in 2014.[6]
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