"Christmas War" redirects here. For the controversy sometimes referred to as the "War on Christmas", see Christmas controversy. For other uses, see Christmas battle (disambiguation).
Agacher Strip War
United States Department of State map showing the competing claims of Mali and Burkina Faso in the Agacher Strip
~40 soldiers and civilians killed 2 soldiers captured
100+ soldiers and civilians killed 16 soldiers captured
Part of a series on the
History of Burkina Faso
Bura Bura-Asinda
Prehistoric c. 3rd–13th century
Mossi Kingdoms
c. 11th century – 1896
Kong Empire
c. 1710 – 1898
French Upper Volta
1919–1932 1947–1958
Republic
1958–1984
Burkina Faso (1984–present)
Agacher Strip War
1985
Assassination of Sankara
1987
Compaoré rule
1987–2014
Burkinabè revolution
2014
Transitional period
2014–2015
Jihadist insurgency
2015–present
Burkinabé coup d'état
2015
2015 elections and aftermath
2015–2022
January and September coup d'état
2022
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The Agacher Strip War (French: Guerre de la Bande d’Agacher) or Christmas War (French: Guerre de Noël) was a war fought by Burkina Faso and Mali over a 160-kilometre-long (100 mi) strip of land along the border in northern Burkina Faso from 25 to 30 December 1985. The war ended in a ceasefire. The Agacher Strip had been subject to a border dispute between Mali and Burkina Faso since the 1960s. Following armed clashes in 1974, both countries agreed to mediation to resolve their differences. Progress on a solution stalled, and in 1983 Burkinabé President Thomas Sankara and Malian President Moussa Traoré decided to have the border dispute settled by the International Court of Justice and subsequently petitioned the body to resolve the issue.
In 1985, tensions rose between the Burkinabé and Malian governments as Sankara called for a revolution in Mali while Traoré's regime struggled to manage social unrest. After Burkinabé officials conducted a census in disputed border communities, Malian forces launched an offensive on 25 December with aircraft and tanks. Overwhelmed by Mali's superior firepower, Burkinabé forces lost control of the Agacher border communities and resorted to guerrilla tactics to stall Malian tanks. Mali subsequently occupied most of the Agacher Strip, while both countries conducted raids on each other's locales. A ceasefire was reached on 30 December, and in early 1986 successful mediation by West African countries resulted in an agreement from Sankara and Traoré to avoid further hostilities. The relatively poor performance of Burkina Faso during the war damaged the credibility of its revolutionary rulers and led them to project a more moderate international image. In Mali, the war added to the country's economic difficulties but boosted the popularity of Traoré's struggling regime. The International Court of Justice later ruled the Agacher Strip to be split among the two countries, a settlement which both accepted.
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