Conflict coverage · Central Sahel

Recapture of Gao and Timbuktu

Jan – Feb 2013Key eventGao · Timbuktu

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MilitaryTerritorial changeNorthern Mali / Azawad

French and Malian forces retake Gao and Timbuktu within three weeks; jihadist forces disperse into the deserts and mountains rather than fight for the cities.

Why it mattersA fast conventional victory that revealed the war's real shape: the enemy did not need cities. The insurgency traded terrain for time and outlasted the intervention that expelled it.

Confidence: HighSources: Established historical recordMethodology Corrections

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This is one entry in the Sahel timeline. The full Key Events surface carries every dated turning point with its filters and its essential subset, and this event in place shows what came before and after it. How Vigil grades, dates and sources its claims is set out in the methodology.