Battle of Areich Hind

Battle of Areich Hind
Part of Insurgency in the Sahel
DateSeptember 17–19, 2010
Location
Areich Hind and Raz El Ma, Tombouctou Region, Mali
Result

Inconclusive

  • Both sides claim victory
Belligerents
Mauritania AQIM
Commanders and leaders
Unknown Djamel Okacha
Casualties and losses
8 killed (per Mauritania)
15 killed (per Algeria)
19 killed, dozens injured (per AQIM)		 12 killed, 6 prisoners (per Mauritania)
1 killed (per AQIM)
2 killed, 3-4 injured

The Battle of Areich Hind, also known as the Battle of Raz el-Ma, took place between September 17 and 19, 2010, during the Islamist insurgency in the Sahel. Mauritanian forces launched an offensive against a group of AQIM jihadists in Malian territory on September 17.

Background

In the months prior to the battle of Areich Hind, jihadists from Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb had been expanding into Mali's desolate Tombouctou Region. Mauritanian and Malian forces had launched a raid into the region in July 2010, near the town of Akla, to eliminate an AQIM camp. The raid destroyed the camp, but AQIM militants executed the French hostage Michel Germaneau shortly afterward.[1]

Battle

On September 17, Mauritanian forces ambushed a convoy of around twenty AQIM vehicles headed towards the Malian border. The AQIM vehicles belonged to Djamel Okacha's katiba, and consisted of around 150 men.[2] A confrontation broke out between the two forces in Raz El Ma and Areich Hind, near Hassisidi. The fighting continued until the morning of September 18.[3][4][5] AQIM claimed in a press release that a small number of French forces fought alongside the Mauritanians, but French authorities denied the allegations.[3]

On September 18, the Mauritanian Army stated six soldiers and twelve jihadists were killed.[3] In the days that followed, two Mauritanian soldiers died of their wounds.[6] A Mauritanian security source also stated that six suspected AQIM members were taken prisoner.[6]

Mauritanian planes bombed AQIM vehicles in the area of Areich Hind on September 19. However, a woman and a girl were killed, and three to four other civilians were injured. AQIM claimed the victims of the bombings were civilians, while the Mauritanian army stated that several jihadists were killed in the raid. The Mauritanian government acknowledged the death of the woman, but claimed she was a jihadist.[7][8]

AQIM also claimed the deaths of nineteen Mauritanian soldiers, and that AQIM inflicted a "crushing defeat" on the soldiers. They also claimed dozens of soldiers were injured, several vehicles destroyed and captured, and only one jihadist killed.[9][10] An Algerian security source stated fifteen Mauritanian soldiers were killed in the battle.[11]

References

  1. ^ "AQMI affirme avoir négocié avec la France le sort de l'otage Germaneau". RFI (in French). 2010-08-02. Retrieved 2024-03-27.
  2. ^ Boisbouvier, Christopher; Ouazani, Cherif; Meunier, Marianne (October 5, 2010). "Le Mali plongé au coeur du combat contre Aqmi". Jeune Afrique. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c "Combats meurtriers entre l'armée mauritanienne et les islamistes d'Aqmi". France 24 (in French). 2010-09-18. Retrieved 2024-03-27.
  4. ^ "Raid mauritanien au Mali: 12 membres d'Aqmi tués". Le Point (in French). 2010-09-18. Retrieved 2024-03-27.
  5. ^ "Reprise des combats entre islamiste et armée en Mauritanie". Le Monde.fr (in French). 2010-09-17. Retrieved 2024-03-27.
  6. ^ a b "Aqmi: 8 soldats mauritaniens tués". Le Figaro (in French). 2010-09-20. Retrieved 2024-03-27.
  7. ^ "Wayback Machine". web.archive.org. Retrieved 2024-03-27.
  8. ^ Naude, Pierre-Francois (September 21, 2010). "Aqmi, la guérilla et la guerre psychologique". Jeune Afrique. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
  9. ^ "Aqmi revendique la mort de 19 soldats mauritaniens". France 24 (in French). 2010-09-22. Retrieved 2024-03-27.
  10. ^ "Aqmi dit avoir tué "19 militaires" mauritaniens au Mali". Le Point (in French). 2010-09-22. Retrieved 2024-03-27.
  11. ^ "Affrontements entre l'armée mauritanienne et Al Qaeda dans le nord du Mali". Libération.fr (in French). 2010-09-18. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2024-03-27.