Operation Serval and Omar Ould Hamaha were killed, while Mokhtar Belmokhtar fled to Libya and Iyad ag Ghali fled to Algeria. The operation is named after the medium-sized African wild cat species Serval. In January 2012, following an influx of weapons that occurred after the Libyan Civil War, Tuareg tribesmen of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) began a rebellion against Mali's central government. In April, the MNLA said it had accomplished its goals and called off its offensive against the government, proclaiming the independence of Azawad. In June 2012, the MNLA came into conflict with the Islamist groups
Operation Serval Mali resulted in the deaths of 11 Islamist fighters. On the evening of April 16, 2014, the French army destroyed two pickup trucks containing jihadists north of Timbuktu. They then used air and ground forces to intercept other vehicles. During the night of April 16 to the 17th, the French special forces, backed by troops from Operation Serval and helicopters come in contact with the Islamist fighters. The French began by firing warning shots, but the jihadists refused to surrender and opened fire. Faced with the advance of the French military, they abandoned their vehicles and ran, suffering more losses.