Second Battle of Gao

The Second Battle of Gao was the recapture of the city of Gao from Islamist MOJWA fighters by Malian/French forces. It took place in January 2013 within the Northern Mali Conflict.

Capture of Gao

According to the spokesman of the General Staff of the French Army Thierry Burkhard, the MOJWA jihadists tried to defend the bridge over the River Niger but were chased away by French special forces on the night of 25-26 January 2013. Fifteen Islamists were killed in the confrontation. The French took control of the bridge after "brief but intense clashes". During this confrontation, a pickup truck loaded with explosives was driven by two suicide bombers in an attempt to kill the French troops, but it was destroyed by fire from special forces.

Once the bridge at Wabaria was under control, French and Malian soldiers took the airport of Gao unopposed. The city, located 6 km from the airport, however, was not immediately attacked. On January 26, the troops waited for reinforcements, namely a convoy of 350 Malian soldiers and a unit of French troops, before continuing on Gao. The spokesman of the General Staff said at the time: "there is no fighting to speak of but there was sporadic harassment by terrorist elements."

Gao

Gao /ɡaʊ/ is a city in Mali and the capital of the Gao Region. The city is located on the River Niger, 320 km (200 mi) east-southeast of Timbuktu on the left bank at the junction with the Tilemsi valley.

For much of its history Gao was an important commercial centre involved in the trans-Saharan trade. In the 9th century external Arabic writers described Gao as an important regional power and by the end of the 10th century the local ruler was said to be a Muslim. Towards the end of the 13th century Gao became part of the Mali Empire, but in first half of the 15th century the town regained its independence and with the conquests of Sonni Ali (ruled 1464–1492) it became the capital of the Songhai Empire. The Empire collapsed after the Moroccan invasion in 1591 and the invaders chose to make Timbuktu their capital. By the time of Heinrich Barth's visit in 1854, Gao had declined to become an impoverished village with 300 huts constructed from matting. In 2009, the urban commune had a population of 86,633.

Gao (disambiguation)

Gao is a city in Mali and the capital of Gao Region.

Gao or GAO may also refer to:

Places

Languages

Battles

Other uses

Gao–Guenie meteorite

Gao–Guenie is a H5 ordinary chondrite meteorite fell on in 1960 in Burkina Faso, Africa. The fall was composed by a large number of fragments and it is one of the largest observed meteorite showers in Africa to date.

Name

The meteorites formerly known as Gao and Guenie in 1999 were officially paired and they name fused into the collective name Gao–Guenie.

History

Gao–Guenie meteorites fell in Burkina Faso on March 5, 1960 at 17:00 (local time). After three separate detonations, several thousands of stones rained down over an area of about 70 square kilometres (27 sq mi). The sound of the fall was heard as far as Ouagadougou, which is 100 kilometres (62 mi) away. Eyewitnesses said that some trees were broken and henhouses destroyed. The largest stones recovered weigh up to 10 kilograms (22 lb).

Composition and classification

Gao–Guenie is classified as H5 ordinary chondrite.

Surface details of a small oriented fragment

Surface details of a small oriented fragment

308 g sample