Gossi

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Gossi is a town and rural commune in Mali’s Tombouctou Region, in the Gourma-Rharous area. It lies northeast of Hombori and southwest of Gao, near the RN15 highway that connects Mopti with Gao. The town sits next to Mare de Gossi, a seasonal lake, and is surrounded by nature reserves where elephants live. Gossi hosts a large cattle market. The commune includes about 31 villages and had around 24,500 residents in 2009. About 90% of people are nomadic herders, with some permanent settlements near Lake Gossi, Lake Ebanguemalène, and Lake Agoufou.

In April 2022, the French military handed its base in Gossi over to the Malian Army. In May 2013, two Tuareg men were found dead near Gossi after an incident involving soldiers; officials attributed the killings to a local militia linked to authorities. On 24 July 2014, Air Algérie Flight 5017 crashed southeast of Gossi, killing all 116 people on board. Gossi was also the site of the French-led capture of Mimi Ould Baba Ould El Mokhtar, who was suspected of involvement in a terrorist attack. In March 2022, the French military released video alleging that Russian mercenaries buried several Malians near the Gossi military base.