Second Battle of Gao

Significance

The Second Battle of Gao marked the recapture of Gao from Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA) fighters by Malian and French forces in January 2013. The operation was part of the broader French-led intervention that began in early 2013 to reverse Islamist territorial control across northern Mali. Retaking Gao, a strategically significant northern city, denied MOJWA a key urban base and extended the momentum of the intervention into the northeast of the country following other recaptures earlier that month.

Forces & casualties