At the time of the attack, the base was defended by Chadian and Bengali peacekeepers and was later aided by French forces as part of Operation Barkhane.

The rebellion grew quickly, with the MNLA capturing key northern Malian towns like Kidal, Gao, and Aguelhok.

In 2017, all jihadist rebels merged into the al-Qaeda-aligned Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin, which grew in power and influence in 2018 and 2019.

[3][2] After twenty-two hours, MINUSMA peacekeepers were able to "neutralize a number of enemies" and force the jihadists to disperse.

[10][11] On the evening on January 20, UN secretary-general António Guterres announced that ten Chadian peacekeepers had been killed in the attack, along with 25 others injured.