March 2013 events in Mali

Operation Panther was a French military operation in Mali that was launched in February 2013.

The Battle of Djebok was a battle that took place in March 2013 in the area of Djebok, during the Mali war.

The Battle of In Arab (Arabic:فن السبة) was a two-day-long armed confrontation between a unit of the MNLA and a group of MOJWA fighters. The battle resulted in an Azawad victory but both sides suffered casualties.

The Battle of Timbuktu was a phase of the Northern Mali conflict, taking place in late March 2013, in which two Islamist attacks targeted the Malian army in Timbuktu. With help from the French, both attacks were prevented from capturing any significant sites in the city.

On March 23 2013, a battle took place in Gao between MUJAO and Malian army. The Malian army repelled the attack.

The Battle of Timbuktu occurred in Timbuktu, Mali, in March 2013, between Islamist groups and Mali government forces supported by France.

The Battle of Ifoghas, also known as the Battle of Tigharghâr or the Battle of the Ametettai, took place from 18 February to 31 March 2013, during the Northern Mali conflict. The French army and the Chadian army fought armed Salafist jihadist groups led by Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and Ansar Dine. After being defeated in January in the Battle of Konna and the Battle of Diabaly , the jihadists abandoned Timbuktu and retreated into the Adrar Tigharghar, a mountain of the Adrar of Ifoghas in northeastern Mali, which has been their sanctuary for years. The French started quickly a pursuit, and they took control of the towns of Tessalit and Aguelhok and begun the operation Panther in the Tigharghar. The first clashes erupt on February 18 and are mainly concentrated in the Ametettai Valley. It is caught between two armored columns, one French to the west and another Chadian to the east, while the paratroopers manage to surprise the jihadists by attacking on foot from the north. The valley is taken on March 3 and jihadists begin to gradually abandon the Tigharghar. Excavation missions and some skirmishes, however, continue to take place the following days. The operations cease on March 31. The battle was a turning point in the war, as with the capture of the Tigharghar, the jihadists lose their main sanctuary in the Sahel as well as most of their military arsenal, taken from the Malian army or Libya .

A party of Islamists rebels ambushed a squadron of Chadian soldiers during a "clean-up operations" in the Adrar des Ifoghas mountains. Heavy gun-fire was exchanged between the two leading to a brief standoff. A soldier was killed by a stray bullet during the confrontation that also led to the deaths of six rebels. A pick-up truck was taken with five Islamists.

On March 6, French and Malian forces took control of the Wadi Tin Keraten area, located 100 km east of Gao and northeast of Imenas. When Malian soldiers got near Tin Keraten, they were attacked by Islamists from MOJWA. French ground troops arrived supported by Tiger helicopters and Gazelles along with some warplanes. Four Malian soldiers were wounded during the battle and a French soldier, sergeant Wilfried Pingaud of the 68th Artillery Regiment in Africa, was mortally wounded. He was transported to Gao where he died of his wounds. The Islamists lost about ten men according to French reports.

The Battle of Iminenas was an armed confrontation between French-Malian forces and the Jihadists terrorist groups, Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa and Al-Mulathameen. The battle was a decisive Franco-Malian victory, as it resulted, according to the French and the Malian governments, to 52 Islamist deaths, and to none for the them.