Various Islamic fundamentalist rebels fought with the government of Mali, the latter of which was supported by French soldiers participating in Operation Serval.

The January 1, 2013, the representatives of Ansar Dine pointed two main requests to the Malian government through Burkinabe President Blaise Compaoré, who mediated during the negotiations.

Ansar Dine demanded that "the Islamic character of the State of Mali be proclaimed solemnly in the Constitution" and called for the autonomy of the Azawad.

On 3 January 2013, Iyad Ag Ghali denounced in a statement the "bad will" of the Malian government during the negotiations and declared the suspension of his offer of cessation of hostilities.

On the 4th, Ansar Dine handed over a document to the Burkinabè mediator and president Blaise Compaoré in which he called for the autonomy of Azawad and the application of Sharia law in northern Mali.

But since 2 January, from the regions of Gao and Timbuktu, the jihadist forces of Ansar Dine, Movement of Oneness and Jihad in Western Africa (MUJAO), Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and Boko Haram were gathering in Bambara Maoudé.

For added discretion, jihadist pickups avoided forming in columns, instead opting to move in wooded areas in small groups in scattered formation so as not to be signaled by plumes of smoke.

Kassim Goïta, Gao's regiment, Elysé Daou, the National Guard and Captain Pascal Berthe, the artillery.

To the reporter Jean-Paul Mari, the assailants initially gathered 70 vehicles around Bambara Maoudé then engaged 150, including 70 from Ansar Dine in the assault on Konna.

Iyad Ag Ghali was the main initiator of the offensive, the leaders of AQIM and MUJAO agreed to join but without enthusiasm, they had decided to consolidate their positions in the north.

Arrived at a checkpoint in the middle of the military they open fire in one sixty soldiers before being in turn exterminated by the Malians.

This version is also defended by Jean-Christophe Notin, it is however contested by Laurent Touchard, according to which "the aggressor tumbles while the identity of the passengers of the bus - true civilians - is being checked.

"[15][28] Street fighting took place in the city, but Malian soldiers were overwhelmed, disorganized and ran out of ammunition, and their radio messages were intercepted by jihadists.

Only 70 French Special Forces soldiers held the Mopti Ambodédjo International Airport, while the Malian army deployed two T-55 tanks and three BM-21 multiple rocket launchers as artillery.

The French chief of army staff, Admiral Guillaud, announced that the Islamists had withdrawn from Konna and retreated several dozen kilometres to the north.

[62] On 15 January, the French defense minister confirmed that the Malian military had still not recaptured Konna from rebel forces, despite earlier claims that they did.

In the late afternoon, they clash with Salafist groups near Dengaourou village, located in a wooded area, about forty kilometers from Konna.

However, the positions of jihadists were identified by the French special forces and reported to the Malian artillery, including multiple BM-21 rocket launch trucks.

The losses of jihadists were unknown, only four bodies were found according to French soldiers, while a Malian captain told AFP the day after the fight that six Islamists were killed, eight of their vehicles captured and several destroyed.

[3][64][65][66][67][68] The French report one casualty during the battle; Lieutenant Damien Boiteux, co-pilot of a Gazelle helicopter, fatally wounded on 11 January.

According to a "regional security source" of the AFP, at least 46 Islamists died in fighting fought from January 10 to 12, while according to a resident of Konna dozens of bodies were left in the city.

On January 12, a merchant from Konna told Reuters that he counted 148 dead, including several dozen Malian army soldiers.

For the newspaper Nouvelle Libération, from January 11 to 14, the jihadists lost 130 men, including Firhoun, the adopted son of Iyad Ag Ghali, as well as 30 vehicles and 4 BRDM-2 destroyed.

On the 13th, contacted by Sahara Media, leaders of Ansar Dine confirm that Kojak and four of his fighters were killed on January 10 during the fighting against the Malian military.

An Islamist leader, Abu El Habib Sidi Mohamed, who claims to be a member of Ansar Edine's communication commission, says the movement still holds the city and shows several armored vehicles taken from the Malian army.

According to Human Rights Watch, at least 10 civilians were also killed in the fighting on January 11 and 12, including three children drowning while attempting to cross the Niger River.

This last estimate is probably based on the testimony of a resident of Konna, who claimed to have been asked by the jihadists to help wash their bodies on the night of January 10, before the French intervention.

[69][48][45][38][70][64][47][24][51][71][72][73][74][75][76][77][78][excessive citations] According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), seven Malian soldiers, including five wounded, were summarily executed by Islamists during the capture of the city.

According to local residents, several Islamist prisoners or suspects were killed by Malian soldiers in military camps in Sévaré, including wounded taken in Konna, witnesses evoke in particular a mass grave of 25 to 30 bodies or corpses thrown in wells.

According to HRW, at least 13 people were summarily executed by Malian soldiers and five others disappeared between 9 and 18 January in Sévaré, Konna and the surrounding villages.