Battle of Gao The Battle of Gao was fought between the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad ( MNLA ) and the Islamist Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa ( MOJWA ) , along with its ally Ansar Dine , that took place in Gao between 26 – 27 June 2012 . followed the next day , with more fighting . By 28 June 2012 , Gao , Timbuktu and Kidal , the three biggest cities in the disputed secessionist region of Azawad within what is recognised as Malian territory , were under the control of Ansar Dine and its Islamist allies . Two days later MOJWA started to destroy parts of the World Heritage Site of Timbuktu , amid condemnation by UNESCO , the OIC Mali and France . This was followed by criticism within the region and internationally with ECOWAS suggesting it could send an armed intervention force into the country and the ICC following Mali ' s lead in terming the acts as " war crimes . " While MNLA also criticised the Islamists for holding civilians and destroying the structures , Ansar Dine said that the destruction was due to violation of " sharia " and in reaction to UNESCO ' s labeling of the sites of Timbuktu and in Gao as " in danger . " Background . Following previous Tuareg rebellion s and the Libyan civil war , in early 2012 the MNLA and Islamist movements captured northern Mali . Tensions then started between the MNLA and Islamist movements over the use of the sharia within the territory . Clashes started to erupt between both sides after a merge attempt failed , despite the signing of an accord to share power . On 25 June , the Islamist Ansar Dine took control of Kidal . Protests broke out on 26 June in the city of Gao , the majority of whose people are not Tuaregs ( as opposed to the MNLA ) , but rather sub - Saharan groups such as the Songhay and Fula peoples . The protestors opposed the Tuareg rebels and the partition of Mali . Two were killed as a result of the protests , allegedly by MNLA troops . The protesters used both Malian and Islamist flags , and " France 24 " reported that many locals supported the Islamists as a result of their opposition to the Tuareg nationalists and the secession of Azawad . Battle . Fighting began in the morning of 26 June , with both sides firing heavy weapons . MNLA Secretary General Bilal ag Acherif was wounded in the attack . After being extricated from the fighting , he was later taken to a hospital in Burkina Faso ' s capital city of Ouagadougou ; while Colonel Bouna Ag Tahib , a defector from the Malian army , was killed . MOJWA soon took control of the Gao governor ' s palace as well as Ag Acherif ' s residence . A MOJWA spokesman stated that 40 MNLA troops had been taken prisoner . The MNLA ' s Azawad Vice President Mahamadou Djeri Maïga acknowledged that they lost control of the city but said that the fight would continue . He asked for international help against Al - Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb , who he stated was responsible for the attack . The next day the MNLA were evicted from the city . Two videos seen by the " AFP " showed the black flag of " jihad " groups and some members of the group saying " Long Live Mali " and singing the national anthem of Mali , respectively . Algeria ' s " Ennahar TV " reported that Mokhtar Belmokhtar , a founding member of AQIM , was probably killed during the battle . A previous death toll of 20 was later revised by doctors who added the number of dead found in the Niger River and the wounded who succumbed to their injuries . Thirty more Algerian fighters were said to have arrived in the city on 29 June to support AQIM and its leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar as the latter seeks to maintain a hold on the town and track MNLA fighters . Reactions . Ansar Dine ' s Chief of Security for Gao , Omar Ould Hamaha , said that the group controls the region and would impose " sharia " . Our fighters control the perimeter . We control Timbuktu completely . We control Gao completely . It ' s Ansar Dine that commands the north of Mali . Now we have every opportunity to apply sharia . Sharia does not require a majority vote . It ' s not democracy . It ' s the divine law that was set out by God to be followed by his slaves . One hundred percent of the north of Mali is Muslim , and even if they don ' t want this , they need to go along with it . Paris - based MNLA spokesman , Moussa Ag Assarid , said that though the group had lost ground in the big cities " we control 90 % of the Azawad . " On 26 June 2012 the Tomb of Askia , which had been listed as part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site , was named by UNESCO as " endangered " at the behest of Mali amid fears of damage to " important ancient manuscripts " from being " looted and smuggled abroad by unscrupulous dealers . " Two days later , the same was done for Timbuktu . A statement by the World Heritage Committee also read that it " asked Mali ' s neighbours to do all in their power to prevent the trafficking in cultural objects from these sites . " ECOWAS then met on 29 June in the Ivorian capital of Yamoussoukro in order to work towards " additional measures to prevent matters in Mali becoming bogged down , " according to host President Alassane Ouattara . The meeting was also attended by the mediator for the Malian crisis following the 2012 Malian coup d ' etat , Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore , Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou and Malian interim Prime Minister Cheick Modibo Diarra . While the group was expected to call for negotiations with movements in the Azawad region , it was also expected to continue with plans to get a 3 , 300 personnel intervention force together to invade the region . Aftermath . By 2 July , Al - Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb , along with its allies , were reported to have mined the periphery of the city . The MNLA spokesman , Mossa Ag Attaher , said that AQIM was " using the population as hostages , as a human shield to protect itself from an MNLA counter - attack . . . Many people are trying to escape , to take the bus to go to Bamako , but the Islamists are stopping them . " On 3 July , MOJWA released 25 MNLA prisoners who had been captured during the battle to show that " they were for the peace , " after being asked to do so by Iyag Ag Ghaly . At the same time , Guinean President Alpha Condé said that an ECOWAS military intervention would be directed against the Islamists and not the MNLA . Capture of Timbuktu . The next day , Ansar Dine was reported to have taken control of Timbuktu after MNLA fighters followed their deadline to leave town . Residents confirmed the MNLA was no longer present , as the Islamist movements confirmed their control over the entire northern Malian region of Azawad . Destruction of shrines . At the same time , UNESCO responded to appeals from the Malian government in Bamako to declare several sites within the city as " endangered " because it " aims to raise cooperation and support for the sites threatened by the armed conflict in the region . " On 30 June 2012 , a local journalist said that he was told Ansar Dine would start destroying 13 more Sufi cemeteries and mausolea of saints after having destroyed three , including the mausoleum of Sidi Mahmoud Ben Amar . They were then said to have destroyed the mausolea of Sidi El Mokhtar , Alfa Moya and five other sites with pick - axes , hoes and Kalashnikovs . Despite earlier claims that they had stopped taking down the tombs , on 1 July about 30 members of the group were reported to have continued taking down four more sites with hoes and chisels at the cemetery of Djinguereber Mosque , including that of Cheikh el - Kebir , Sidi Elmety , Mahamane Elmety and Sidi Mahmoudou by late afternoon . Ansar Dine ' s Omar Ould Hamaha said that " the only tribunal we recognise is the divine court of shariah . The destruction is a divine order . It ' s our prophet who said that each time that someone builds something on top of a grave , it needs to be pulled back to the ground . We need to do this so that future generations don ' t get confused , and start venerating the saints as if they are God . . . We are against tourism . They foster debauchery . " On 2 July there were more destructions , most notably at Sidi Yahya ' s mausoleum , one of the three " great mosques " in the city built in the 1500s during the Islamic Golden Age , according to UNESCO . The militants broke down the door to the shrine , which , according to a local imam , was not supposed to be opened until the end of days . Sanda Ould Bamana then told the BBC that Ansar Dine had done almost 90 % of what it sought to in destroying the mausolea in accordance with " sharia " , which he said does not permit tombs to be taller than 15 centimetres . Local imam , Alpha Abdoulahi , said that the militants wanted to " destroy the mystery " of the gateway and that he was offered " 50 , 000 CFA for repairs but I refused to take the money , saying that what they did is irreparable . " In September 2012 , Islamists destroyed the mausoleum of Cheik El - Kebir , located 330 kilimeters from Gao . The tomb had been venerated by people of the Kunta tribe . Further destruction occurred with four mausoleums being razed on 23 December and an Ansar Dine official , Abou Dardar , being quoted by " Agence France - Presse " as saying that " not a single mausoleum will remain in Timbuktu . " On January 28 , 2013 , as French - Malian force of troops captured the airport , it was reported that the departing forces set fire to the Ahmed Baba Institute and its ancient manuscripts . However there was no malicious destruction of any library or collection as most of the manuscripts were safely hidden away . Reactions . The MNLA ' s spokesman Hama Ag Mahmoud , speaking from Nouakchott , said of the destructions that " the perpetrators of these heinous acts , their sponsors , and those who support them must be made accountable . " On the 12 July , the MNLA released a statement that read " we call on the USA , France and all other countries who want to stand against Ansar Dine , Boko Haram and al Qaeda who are now holding Timbuktu , Gao and Kidal to help us kill them and help the people in those cities . " The MNLA and Tuareg refugees claimed , in interviews with the Western media , that Islamists had only previously bested the MNLA , despite their boasts of the MNLA having more fighters , because of superior firepower and the presence of foreign Islamist groups , like AQIM . An MNLA official in Nouakchott later clarified that they would only fight to remove the Islamists if " we are not the ones to fight the terrorists all alone . . . it is important that the outside powers help us , to even up the balance of power . " Timbuktu Deputy Mayor Sandy Haidara said of the actions that " it looks as if it is a direct reaction to the UNESCO decision . " Ansar Dine ' s spokesman Sanda Ould Boumama then said that the group " will today destroy every mausoleum in the city . All of them , without exception . God is unique . All of this is " haram " . We are all Muslims . UNESCO is what ? " [ We are acting ] in the name of God . " UNESCO ' s Executive Committee Chair Alissandra Cummins said that " this is tragic news for us all . I appeal to all those engaged in the conflict in Timbuktu to exercise their responsibility . " UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova called for a stop to the destructions , shortly before the announcement that Ansar Dine had ceased the destructions , according to a local journalist . Haidara ' s assessment was echoed by the media , which read the action as reacting to UNESCO ' s decision to put the sites on the endangered list . The chairwoman of UNESCO ' s 36th session , Yeleonor Mitrofanova , told the World Heritage Committee meeting in Saint Petersburg that she " appealed to all those engaged in the conflict in Timbuktu to exercise their responsibility - - for the sake of future generations , spare the legacy of their past " A source reported to be affiliated to a local imam was quoted as saying that Ansar Dine had " raped Timbuktu today . It is a crime . " United Nations Representative for West Africa Said Djinnit said that the events " confirm the hold that terrorist groups have on Mali ’ s north , which worsens the humanitarian position of local people . " United Nations Secretary - General Ban Ki - moon ' s spokesman Martin Nesirky quoted Moon as saying : " Such attacks against cultural heritage sites are totally unjustified , " while adding that " the secretary - general calls on all parties to exercise their responsibility to preserve the cultural heritage of Mali . " The International Criminal Court ' s Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda warned " those involved in these criminal acts is clear : stop the destruction of the religious buildings now . This is a war crime which my office has authority to fully investigate . " She cited Mali ' s accession to Article 8 of the Rome Statute that says any " deliberate attacks against undefended civilian buildings which are not military objectives are a war crime . " The sixty - seventh session of the United Nations General Assembly also expressed concern about the regions UNESCO sites to the Director General of the Islamic Educational , Scientific and Cultural Organization , the President of the African Union Commission and the Chair of ECOWAS . The Organisation of the Islamic Conference issued a statement that read the sites were " part of the rich Islamic heritage of Mali and should not be allowed to be destroyed and put in harm ' s way by bigoted extremist elements . " ECOWAS also issued a statement after a meeting in Ouagadougou that read : " They are asking the International Criminal Court to proceed with necessary investigations to identify those responsible for war crimes and to take the necessary action against them . " It also called on Mali to ask the UN to support a military intervention against the groups in Azawad . The Malian government called the actions " destructive fury , " " war crimes " and threatened action through Malian and international channels . Mali ' s Foreign Minister Sadio Lamine Sow said from Algiers that Mali would " do everything to recover our territory ; " while the Culture and Tourism Minister Diallo Fadima Touré called on the UN on 1 July , to " take concrete steps to stop these crimes against the cultural heritage of my people . " Protesters in Bamako rallied against the Islamist takeover on 4 July . France ' s Communications Director and Chief Spokesperson at the Central Administration Bernard Valero said : " France condemns the deliberate destruction of the tombs of Muslim saints in the city of Timbuktu by an Islamist extremist group which controls this city . We appeal for an end to this violence and this intolerance . The systematic violation of these places of reverence and prayer , which for centuries have been part of the soul of this famed sub - Saharan city , constitutes an intolerable act . " The Russia Foreign Ministry condemned the action as " barbarian . Such acts can only arouse indignation . " The United States ' State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland also added that " the United States strongly condemns the destruction of the UNESCO world heritage sites in Timbuktu by Islamic militants . We call on all parties to protect Mali ' s heritage . " Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba said at the General debate of the sixty - seventh session of the United Nations General Assembly that he rejected the attempt to secede , as well as the wanton destructions of the sites . Prime Minister Cheick Modibo Diarra also called for an immediate international intervention to restore Bamako ' s writ ; he was supported by Niger . It was also affirmed at the same forum by Ivory Coast , who had a similar external intervention during the 2010 – 2011 Ivorian crisis , and former imperial overlord France ' s Francois Hollande who supported an African intervention . The head of the Tombouctou Manuscripts Project at the University of Cape Town Shamil Jeppie said that the destruction was akin to that of the Buddhas of Bamiyan . " It ' s a real loss for people in the town , in the region and on the continent . Timbuktu was a center of Islamic learning , a very significant center — there is lots of internal and external evidence of this . But Ansar Dine is ignorant of this . For them , there is only one book and it ' s the Quran . All this other ( Islamic ) learning is inconsequential to them . " The Chairman of the Malian Manuscript Foundation Michael Covitt , said from New York that the action led to " generations and generations of culture being destroyed . " " Voice of America " reported that people in the city say the actions of Ansar Dine as unrelated to Islamic thought and teachings , but instead targeted at avenging the threats of the " international community " and the Western world - led War on Terror . Timbuktu MP in the National Assembly of Mali , Haïdara El Hadji Baba , said that " Ansar Dine ’ s real motivation in doing this was to defy the international community ; ” he cited the destructions as emanating after UNESCO ' s classification of the shrines as " in danger . " He further warned that after Bensouda told the French media on 1 July that the actions could be called war crimes there could be more to come . " With its condemnations the international community is only intensifying Ansar Dine ' s desire to destroy . " UNESCO ' s World Heritage Centre ' s Africa head , Lazare Eloundou Assomo , refused responsibility for the action in saying that it was " normal " for supranational bodies to denounce the destruction of what she termed " world heritage . " She added : " Would you have UNESCO remain silent about this ? No . It ’ s crucial that we declare that these sites are important to the entire world and it ’ s everyone ’ s responsibility to protect them . " While Reuters was similarly critical of the move , it also cited Ansar Dine ' s Sanda Ould Boumama speaking to Radio France Internationale saying that " human beings cannot be elevated higher than God . . . When the Prophet entered Mecca , he said that all the mausoleums should be destroyed . And that ' s what we ' re repeating . "