The Battle of Gao was fought between the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) and the Islamist Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA), along with its ally Ansar Dine, in Gao between 26–28 June 2012. By the 28 June, Gao, Timbuktu and Kidal, the three biggest cities in the disputed secessionist region of Azawad within what is recognised as Malian territory, were under the control of Ansar Dine and its Islamist allies.
Two days later, parts of the World Heritage Site of Timbuktu had started to be destroyed, amid condemnation by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Mali and France. This was followed by criticism within the region and internationally with Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) suggesting it could send an armed intervention force into the country and the International Criminal Court (ICC) following Mali's lead in terming the acts as "war crimes." While MNLA also criticised the Islamists for holding civilians and destroying the structures, Ansar Dine said that the destruction was due to violation of sharia (their Najdi interpretation) and in reaction to UNESCO's labeling of the sites of Timbuktu and in Gao as "in danger."
Background
Following previous Tuareg rebellions in 2007–2009 and the Libyan Civil War, in early 2012 the MNLA and Islamist movements captured northern Mali. Tensions then started between the MNLA and Islamist movements over the use of sharia law within the territory. Clashes started to erupt between both sides after a merge attempt failed, despite the signing of an accord to share power. On 25 June, the Islamist Ansar Dine took control of Kidal.
Protests broke out on 26 June in the city of Gao, the majority of whose people are not Tuaregs (as opposed to the MNLA), but rather sub-Saharan groups such as the Songhay and Fula peoples. The protestors opposed the Tuareg rebels and the partition of Mali. Two were killed as a result of the protests, allegedly by MNLA troops. The protesters used both Malian and Islamist flags, and France 24 reported that many locals supported the Islamists as a result of their opposition to the Tuareg nationalists and the secession of Azawad.
Involved groups and number of fighters
The forces involved were not known precisely. At the end of May 2012, the MNLA claimed to have 1,500 to 2,000 men in and around Gao, yet the movement recognized that several hundred of its fighters have deserted to join Ansar Dine, attracted by the financial gain they would gain by the terrorist group, and by the personality of its leader, Iyad Ag Ghaly. Towards the end of March or the beginning of April, French investigative journalists managed to enter Gao with the help of the MNLA, and they noticed that the MLNA controlled the Gao airport and the governorate, but that the city was mainly held by Islamists which were in control of most patrols. Regarding the number of fighters, they initially find the presence of fifty men at the airport, subsequently 300 gathered with pickups, a BM-21 and a BRDM-2. No planes were at the airport, just a damaged and unusable Mil Mi-24 helicopter. In mid-June 2012, Intallah Ag Assai, an MNLA colonel, said that the airport served as a base for their weapons and equipment, with more than half of their war material being seized from battles with the army. According to him the MNLA had 30 tanks in working order and 10 others in repair as well as a helicopter. The number of his fighters was 2,000, of which however half he recognized, were young recruits still inexperienced. The forces of the jihadists were even less known. Gao was mainly occupied by MUJAO, a group that had a total of 500 to 1,000 combatants, concentrated mainly in the Gao region. Fighters from Ansar Dine were also present, as well as a contingent of about one hundred men from Boko Haram and one of five katiba brigade-battalions from AQIM, katiba Al-Mouthalimin, commanded by Mokhtar Belmokhtar. Belmokhtar was suspected as the one who commanded the assault on the positions of the MNLA during the battle.