In mid-January 2012, the Malian military clashed with the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad in Aguelhok, Ménaka, and Tessalit in northern Mali, losing at least one soldier to several Tuareg militants in the process of repulsing the rebels' attack. A statement by the Malian government said the assailants "included forces that returned from Libya". In March, the Malian government of Amadou Toumani Touré was ousted in a coup by Malian soldiers over its handling of the insurgency in the country. In June 2013, a peace agreement was signed between the government and Tuareg militants, after intervention in the conflict by the French Armed Forces.