As negotiations between the Malian government and MNLA dragged on in Ouagadougou in mid-2013, the ceasefire on the ground between the two groups worsened on June 2.

[1] The Malian government accused the MNLA of targeting Songhai, Fulani, and Ikelan minorities, all black groups in the region.

Witnesses stated that black residents of Kidal were forced to plead allegiance to the MNLA under duress, or else they would be expelled to Gao.

[7][8] Maiga stated that ten MNLA fighters were killed and twenty-eight taken prisoner, and that there were no Malian casualties during the battle.

[16] French forces dispatched ten to twenty men to Anefis to quell tensions there following Mali's capture of the town.