The city of Kidal came under Malian government control with the help of allied militias in May 2014, during the initial stages of the 2012 Tuareg rebellion.

[1] During the Algiers Agreement in 2014, the Malian government brokered a ceasefire with a coalition of anti-government rebels, the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA), allowing them to remain in control of Kidal.

[4] Fighting broke out between the CMA and GATIA around 5pm on 9 August 2016, near Adjlal (also spelled Edjarer) despite a ceasefire agreed a week prior between the two groups.

[5] Both GATIA and the High Council for the Unity of Azawad, a member of the CMA, blamed each other for restarting the fighting.

[8] A United Nations report concluded that seven CMA fighters were killed, thirty-two were injured, and five were kidnapped by GATIA.