Mali War

The Mali War, sometimes referred to as Operation Persistent Vision, was a conflict between the West African states of Mali and Niger and the separatist state of Azawad. The conflict was part of an extended internal conflict sparked by Tuareg separatism in the western Sahara but expanded into an international conflict following the deaths of numerous civilian tourists in an attack on Timbuktu. The two-year conflict resulted in a border resolution that ended formal hostilities between Mali and Azawad and significantly set back insurgent activity in the region, but has since led to an ongoing proxy war carried on largely by terrorist groups and other Tuareg and Islamist insurgents backed by the international Jund al-Islam organization and other Islamist groups.

The Mali War is notable as the first war in which troops from France, Australia and New Caledonia fought side by side since the Second World War.

Flight 554 Incident
International attention became fixed on the Mali situation following the Air France Flight 554 Incident in April 2012.

Flight 554, a Boeing 777 traveling from Bamako to Paris, was abruptly lost while flying over the Sahara. Typical procedure for passenger aircraft was to veer west of the Azawad border and bypass the disputed region via eastern Mauretania. However, in this instance Flight 554 veered into Azawad airspace, likely due to a flight systems error. The wreckage was soon located west of Taoudenni, but the Azawad government refused French and Malian demands for access to the wreckage. Azawad declared the aircraft loss to have been caused by engine failure at altitude. Fifteen crew and 279 passengers were killed, including 121 French citizens, 45 Albans and 24 Australians.

The refusal by Azawad to grant access to the wreckage drew widespread condemnation from involved and allied governments. Within four days, however, the French Directorate-General for External Security was able to secure clandestine access to the crash site, and reports were made public indicating the aircraft had been struck by a Buk missile fired from an Azawad-operated surface-to-air-missile site near Taoudenni. The Azawad government denied the reports initially but soon pivoted to claiming the aircraft violated Azawad airspace and was mistaken for a French military aircraft.