The battle of the Serma Forest took place between January 4 and 9, 2019, led by French troops in Operation Barkhane against Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin.
Prelude
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]
Battle
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]
References
- ^ a b "Opération Barkhane : une vingtaine de jihadistes "mis hors de combat"". VOA (in French). 2019-01-10. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
- ^ a b "Bilan de l'opération contre la katiba Serma au Mali". RFI (in French). 2019-01-10. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
- ^ a b c d "20 membres de groupes armés terroristes mis hors de combat au Mali". lignesdedefense.blogs.ouest-france.fr (in French). Retrieved 2023-08-05.
- ^ "Mali: qui est la katiba Serma, cible d'une opération antiterroriste?". RFI (in French). 2019-01-09. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
- ^ "Mali: opération anti-terroriste à Boni, dans le cercle de Douentza". RFI (in French). 2019-01-07. Retrieved 2023-08-06.
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