Conflict coverage · Central Sahel

Recapture of Gao and Timbuktu

Jan – Feb 2013Key eventGao · Timbuktu

MilitaryTerritorial changeNorthern Mali / Azawad

French and Malian forces retake Gao and Timbuktu within three weeks; jihadist forces disperse into the deserts and mountains rather than fight for the cities.

Why it mattersA fast conventional victory that revealed the war's real shape: the enemy did not need cities. The insurgency traded terrain for time and outlasted the intervention that expelled it.

Confidence: HighSources: Established historical recordMethodology Corrections

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