Azawad

According to the Scottish explorer and scientist Robert Brown, Azawad is an Arabic corruption of the Berber word Azawagh, referring to a dry river basin that covers western Niger, northeastern Mali, and southern Algeria.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i2AMAAAAYAAJ&q=azawad&pg=PA198|title=Annotations to The history and description of Africa, by Leo Africanus|author=Robert Brown|year=1896|publisher=The Hakluyt Society|access-date=3 April 2012}} The name translates to "land of transhumance".{{cite web|url=http://www.courrierinternational.com/article/2012/03/01/rebelles-touaregs-pourquoi-nous-reprenons-les-armes|title=Rebelles touaregs : "Pourquoi nous reprenons les armes..."|language=fr|author=Germain B. Nama|date=1 March 2012|work=Courrier International |access-date=5 April 2012}}

On 6 April 2012, in a statement posted to its website, the MNLA declared the independence of Azawad from Mali. In this Azawad Declaration of Independence, the name Independent State of Azawad was used{{cite web|url=http://www.mnlamov.net/component/content/article/169-declaration-dindependance-de-lazawad.html |title=Déclaration d'indépendence de l'Azawad |author=Bilal Ag Acherif |author-link=Bilal Ag Acherif |date=6 April 2012 |publisher=National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad |language=fr |trans-title=Declaration of Independence of Azawad |access-date=6 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018123246/http://www.mnlamov.net/component/content/article/169-declaration-dindependance-de-lazawad.html |archive-date=18 October 2012 }} ({{langx|fr|link=no|État indépendant de l'Azawad}}, {{langx|ar|دولة أزواد المستقلة}},{{cite web|url=http://ar.mnlamov.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=176:2012-04-06-02-18-09&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=50|script-title=ar:بيان استقلال أزواد|author=Bilal Ag Acherif|author-link=Bilal Ag Acherif|date=6 April 2012|publisher=National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad|language=ar|trans-title=Declaration of Independence of Azawad|access-date=28 April 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120512123642/http://ar.mnlamov.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=176%3A2012-04-06-02-18-09&catid=1%3Alatest-news&Itemid=50|archive-date=12 May 2012}} {{Transliteration|ar|Dawlat Azawād al-Mustaqillah}}). On 26 May, the MNLA and its former co-belligerent Ansar Dine announced a pact in which they would merge to form an Islamist state; according to the media the new long name of Azawad was used in this pact. But this new name is not clear – sources list several variants of it: the Islamic Republic of Azawad{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-18224004|title=Mali Tuareg and Islamist rebels agree on Islamist state|date=27 May 2012|work=BBC News|access-date=31 May 2012}} ({{langx|fr|link=no|République islamique de l'Azawad}}),{{cite web|url=http://maliactu.net/13418/proclamation-de-la-republique-islamique-de-lazawad-la-vraie-face-de-lirredentisme-et-de-lintegrisme-saffiche|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120713103038/http://maliactu.net/13418/proclamation-de-la-republique-islamique-de-lazawad-la-vraie-face-de-lirredentisme-et-de-lintegrisme-saffiche|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 July 2012|title=Proclamation de la République Islamique de l'Azawad : La vraie face de l'irrédentisme et de l'intégrisme s'affiche|author=Allimam Mahamane|date=31 May 2012|publisher=MaliActu|language=fr|access-date=31 May 2012}} the Islamic State of Azawad ({{langx|fr|link=no|État islamique de l'Azawad}}{{cite web|url=http://www.lefigaro.fr/international/2012/05/27/01003-20120527ARTFIG00058-nord-mali-la-rebellion-cree-un-etat-islamique.php|title=Nord-Mali: la rébellion crée un État islamique|date=27 May 2012|work=Le Figaro|language=fr|access-date=31 May 2012}}), the Republic of Azawad.{{cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2012/05/27/world/africa/mali-rebel-groups/index.html?iref=allsearch|title=Mali rebel groups join forces, vowing an Islamic state|author=Katarina Höije|date=27 May 2012|publisher=CNN|access-date=31 May 2012}} Azawad authorities did not officially confirm any change of name. Later reports indicated the MNLA had decided to withdraw from the pact with Ansar Dine. In a new statement, dated on 9 June, the MNLA used the name State of Azawad ({{langx|fr|link=no|État de l'Azawad}}).{{cite web|url=http://www.mnlamov.net/index.php?view=article&catid=38:constantes&id=182:mis-en-place-un-conseil-transitoire-de-letat-de-lazawadctea-&tmpl=component&print=1&layout=default&page=|title=Mis en place un Conseil Transitoire de l'Etat de l'AZAWAD (CTEA)|author=Bilal Ag Acherif|author-link=Bilal Ag Acherif|date=9 June 2012|publisher=National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad|language=fr|trans-title=Declaration of Independence of Azawad|access-date=11 June 2012}} The MNLA produced a list of the 28 members of the Transitional Council of the State of Azawad (French: Conseil de transition de l'État de l'Azawad, CTEA) serving as a provisional government with President Bilal Ag Acherif to manage the new State of Azawad.

{{History of Azawad}}

After European powers formalized the scramble for Africa in the Berlin Conference, the French assumed control of the land between the 14th meridian and Miltou, South-West Chad, bounded in the south by a line running from Say, Niger to Baroua. Although the Azawad region was French in name, the principle of effectivity required France to hold power in those areas assigned, e.g. by signing agreements with local chiefs, setting up a government, and making use of the area economically, before the claim would be definitive. On 15 December 1893, Timbuktu, by then long past its prime, was annexed by a small group of French soldiers, led by Lieutenant Gaston Boiteux.{{Harvnb |Hacquard|1900|p=[http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k103743p/f78.image 71]}}; {{Harvnb|Dubois|White|1896|url=https://archive.org/stream/timbuctoomyster01whitgoog#page/n374/mode/1up|p=358}} The region became part of French Sudan (Soudan Français), a colony of France. The colony was reorganised and the name changed several times during the French colonial period. In 1899 the French Sudan was subdivided and the Azawad became part of Upper Senegal and Middle Niger (Haut-Sénégal et Moyen Niger). In 1902 it was renamed as Senegambia and Niger (Sénégambie et Niger), and in 1904 this was changed again to Upper Senegal and Niger (Haut-Sénégal et Niger). This name was used until 1920 when it became French Sudan again.{{sfn|Imperato|1989|pp=48–49}}

File:Touaregs at the Festival au Desert near Timbuktu, Mali 2012.jpg at the January 2012 Festival au Désert in Timbuktu, just before the MNLA launched the Azawadi rebellion later in the same month]]

French Sudan became the autonomous state of Mali within the French Community in 1958, and Mali became independent from France in 1960. Four major Tuareg rebellions took place against Malian rule: the First Tuareg Rebellion (1962–64), the rebellion of 1990–1995, the rebellion of 2007–2009, and a 2012 rebellion.

In the early twenty-first century, the region became notorious for banditry and drug smuggling.{{cite news|url=http://www.la-croix.com/Actualite/S-informer/France/Une-zone-immense-et-incontrolable-aux-confins-du-Sahara-_NG_-2010-09-20-604494|title=Une zone immense et incontrôlable aux confins du Sahara|language=fr|newspaper=La Croix|date=20 September 2010|access-date=9 June 2012}} The area has been reported to contain great potential mineral wealth, including petroleum and uranium.{{cite web|url=http://www.jmpmali.com/html/fourpagefive.html|title=Le secteur minier du Mali, un potentiel riche mais inexploité|year=2011|publisher=Les Journées Minières et Pétrolières du Mali|access-date=3 April 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121231153626/http://www.jmpmali.com/html/fourpagefive.html|archive-date=31 December 2012}}

{{Main|Tuareg rebellion (2012)}}

On 17 January 2012, the MNLA announced the start of an insurrection in Northern Mali against central government, declaring that it "will continue so long as Bamako does not recognise this territory as a separate entity".{{cite web|url=http://www.mnlamov.net/english/93-the-renewal-of-armed-struggle-in-azawad.html|title=The Renewal of Armed Struggle in Azawad|date=17 January 2012|publisher=Mouvement National de libération de l'Azawad|access-date=2 April 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125052225/http://www.mnlamov.net/english/93-the-renewal-of-armed-struggle-in-azawad.html|archive-date=25 January 2012}} After the first attack took place in the town of Ménaka, further fighting was reported in different parts of the north, including Aguelhok, Tessalit, Léré, and Niafunké. Contradictory reports on military gains and losses from Malian military, were strongly denied by the Malian government.{{Cite web | url=http://www.irinnews.org/report/95252/mali-a-timeline-of-northern-conflict. |title = A timeline of northern conflict|date = 5 April 2012}} On 24 January, the MNLA won control of the town of Aguelhok, killing around 160 Malian soldiers and capturing dozens of heavy weapons and military vehicles. In March 2012, the MNLA and Ansar Dine took control of the regional capitals of Kidal{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17562066|work=BBC News|title=Mali coup: Rebels seize desert town of Kidal|date=30 March 2012|access-date=30 March 2012}} and Gao{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17576263|title=Mali Tuareg rebels seize key garrison town of Gao|date=31 March 2012|access-date=1 April 2012|work=BBC News}} along with their military bases. On 1 April, Timbuktu was captured.{{cite news|url=http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/mali-coup-leader-reinstates-1403759.html|title=Mali coup leader reinstates old constitution|author=Rukmini Callimachi|date=1 April 2012|access-date=31 March 2012}} After the seizure of Timbuktu on 1 April, the MNLA gained effective control of most of the territory they claim for an independent Azawad. In a statement released on the occasion, the MNLA invited all Tuaregs abroad to return home and join in constructing institutions in the new state.{{cite web|url=http://www.mnlamov.net/actualites/34-actualites/164-declaration-du-bureau-politique-.html|title=Declaration du Bureau Politique|language=fr|date=1 April 2012|publisher=Mouvement National de libération de l'Azawad|access-date=2 April 2012}}

{{main|Azawadi declaration of independence}}

File:Le Mali confronté aux sanctions et à lavancée des rebelles islamistes (6904946068).jpg

File:Les rebelles touaregs joignent leurs forces dans le nord du Mali (8248043080).jpg

The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) declared Northern Mali an independent state that they named Azawad on 6 April 2012 and pledged to draft a constitution establishing it as a democracy. Their statement acknowledged the United Nations charter and said the new state would uphold its principles.{{cite news|url=https://af.reuters.com/article/maliNews/idAFL6E8F605520120406|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120725190147/http://af.reuters.com/article/maliNews/idAFL6E8F605520120406|url-status=dead|archive-date=25 July 2012|title=Mali rebels declare independence in north|author=Bate Felix|date=6 April 2012|access-date=6 April 2012|work=Reuters}}

In an interview with France 24, an MNLA spokesman declared the independence of Azawad:

{{blockquote|Mali is an anarchic state. Therefore, we have gathered a national liberation movement to put in an army capable of securing our land and an executive office capable of forming democratic institutions. We declare the independence of Azawad from this day on.|sign=Moussa Ag Assarid, MLNA spokesman, 6 April 2012}}

In the same interview, Assarid promised that they would respect the colonial frontiers that separate the region from its neighbours; he insisted that Azawad's declaration of independence had international legality.{{cite news|url=http://www.france24.com/en/20120406-france-24-exclusive-tuareg-rebels-declare-independence-mlna-mali-ansar-dine-azawad|title=Tuareg rebels declare independence in north Mali|publisher=France 24|date=6 April 2012|access-date=6 April 2012}}

No foreign entity recognised Azawad. The MNLA's declaration was immediately rejected by the African Union, who declared it "null and no value whatsoever". The French Foreign Ministry said it would not recognise the unilateral partition of Mali, but it called for negotiations between the two entities to address "the demands of the northern Tuareg population [which] are old and for too long had not received adequate and necessary responses". The United States also rejected the declaration of independence.{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mali-idUSBRE83507L20120406|work=Reuters|title=AU, US reject Mali rebels' independence declaration|first=Bate|last=Felix|date=6 April 2012|access-date=7 April 2012}}

The MNLA was estimated to have up to 3,000 soldiers. ECOWAS declared Azawad "null and void", and said that Mali is "one and [an] indivisible entity". ECOWAS said that it would use force, if necessary, to put down the rebellion.{{cite news|newspaper=Afrique en Ligue |title=Azawad independence: ECOWAS calls declaration of Azawad independence 'null and void' |date=7 April 2012 |url=http://www.afriquejet.com/azawad-independence-mali-2012040736597.html |access-date=8 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120409143744/http://www.afriquejet.com/azawad-independence-mali-2012040736597.html |archive-date=9 April 2012 }} The French government indicated it could provide logistical support.

On 26 May, the MNLA and its former co-belligerent Ansar Dine announced a pact to merge to form an Islamist state.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-18224004|title=Mali Tuareg and Islamist rebels agree on Sharia state|date=26 May 2012|access-date=27 May 2012|work=BBC News}} Later reports indicated the MNLA withdrew from the pact, distancing itself from Ansar Dine.{{cite news|url=http://www.fasozine.com/index.php/le-blog-de-barkbiiga/le-blog-de-barkbiiga/8518-nord-mali-le-mnla-refuse-de-se-mettre-len-sardiner|title=Nord Mali: le MNLA refuse de se mettre "en sardine"!|last=Biiga|first=Bark|date=3 June 2012|access-date=3 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120608054030/http://www.fasozine.com/index.php/le-blog-de-barkbiiga/le-blog-de-barkbiiga/8518-nord-mali-le-mnla-refuse-de-se-mettre-len-sardiner|archive-date=8 June 2012|url-status=dead|language=fr}}{{cite news|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/mali-islamists-reopen-talks-with-tuareg-rebels/1146352.html|title=Mali Islamists Reopen Talks With Tuareg Rebels|date=2 June 2012|access-date=2 June 2012|publisher=Voice of America}} MNLA and Ansar Dine continued to clash,{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-18377168|title=Mali rebel groups 'clash in Kidal'|date=8 June 2012|work=BBC News}} culminating in the Battle of Gao and Timbuktu on 27 June, in which the Islamist groups Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa and Ansar Dine took control of Gao, driving out the MNLA. The following day, Ansar Dine announced that it was in control of Timbuktu and Kidal, the three biggest cities of northern Mali.{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mali-crisis-idUSBRE85R15720120628|title=Islamists declare full control of Mali's north|author=Tiemoko Diallo and Adama Diarra|date=28 June 2012|work=Reuters|access-date=29 June 2012}} Ansar Dine continued its offensive against MNLA positions and overran all remaining MNLA held towns by 12 July with the fall of Ansongo.{{Cite web | url=http://www.france24.com/en/20120712-al-qaeda-linked-islamists-drive-malis-tuaregs-last-stronghold-ansogo-timbuktu-mnla-ansar-dine-mujao | title=Al Qaeda-linked Islamists drive Mali's Tuaregs from last stronghold| date=12 July 2012}}

In December 2012, the MNLA agreed on Mali's national unity and territorial integrity in talks with both the central government and Ansar Dine.[http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/12/201212420515159568.html "Mali rebels agree to respect 'national unity'"], Aljazeera, Retrieved 2012-12-05

{{Further|Northern Mali conflict}}

In January 2013, a minor insurgency began when Islamist fundamentalist groups attempted to take control of all of Mali. France and Chad sent troops in support of the Malian army. The whole Northern region was captured within a month prior to the Islamists offensive against the South. The rebels' main presence centered around their headquarters in Kidal. Islamists began slowly regrouping in the Adrar des Ifoghas mountains until the French and African coalition launched an offensive to eliminate the Islamist leadership and recover foreign hostages being held by them.

Tuareg nomadic groups such as the MNLA, an Azawadi separatist group, helped retake several main towns in the North, but stayed neutral in fighting between the Islamists and the Malian army. The MNLA co-operated with the French troops, providing guides and logistical services and renting space in their military bases. However, no Malian army presence was allowed by MNLA authorities, due to accusations of Malian crimes against the Tuareg people. Despite this, the Islamists targeted MNLA checkpoints and other military installations with suicide bombers in retaliation. In-fighting also occurred when Chadian intervention forces were accused of firing upon Tuareg civilians.

A peace deal was reached in June 2013 between the MNLA and the Malian government. It gave the military lease over Tuareg rebel-held land and provided Tuareg with greater autonomy which was requested after the MNLA revoked their Independence claim. This allowed the northern part of the country to participate in the Malian presidential elections the same month. The ceasefire didn't last long before Malian troops clashed with rebels in skirmishes.

In February 2014, a massacre of a Malian general's family who were ethnic Tuareg led to an ethnic conflict between Fulani Islamists and Tuareg MNLA separatists. A massacre deliberately targeting Tuareg majority civilians was carried out by Islamists killing over 30 unarmed men.

There was a referendum scheduled for 2017 on gaining autonomy and renaming the northern regions into "Azawad". However, Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita shelved the plans for the referendum on constitutional reforms that were met with opposition and ignited regular street protests. {{Cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/world/mali-president-postpones-referendum-on-reforms-idUSKCN1AZ0DD/ |title=Mali president postpones referendum on reforms |work=Reuters| date=19 August 2017 |access-date=6 June 2025}}

File:Une guelta, près d'Oubankort dans l'Adrar des Ifoghas.jpg in Adrar des Ifoghas]]

The local climate is desert or semi-desert. Reuters wrote of the terrain: "Much of the land is the Sahara desert at its most inhospitable: rock, sand dunes and dust scored by shifting tracks."{{cite news|url=http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/factbox-azawad-self-proclaimed-tuareg-state/|title=FACTBOX-'Azawad': self-proclaimed Tuareg state|date=6 April 2012|access-date=6 April 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120914024935/http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/factbox-azawad-self-proclaimed-tuareg-state/|archive-date=14 September 2012}} Some definitions of Azawad also include parts of northern Niger and southern Algeria, adjacent areas to the south and the north{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/focus/unrestsahara/2008/07/20087118508319575.html|title=Who are the Tuareg?|date=14 July 2008|publisher=Al Jazeera|access-date=3 April 2012}} though in its declaration of independence, the MNLA did not advance territorial claims on those areas.

Traditionally, Azawad has referred to the sandplains north of Timbuktu. In geological terms, it is a mosaic of river, swamp, lake, and wind-borne deposits, while aeolian processes have proven the most imprinting.McIntosh, 2008, p. 33

About 6500 BC, Azawad was a 90,000-square kilometres marshy and lake basin. The area of today's Timbuktu was probably permanently flooded. In the deeper parts of Azawad, there were large lakes, partly recharged by rainfall, partly by exposed groundwater. Seasonal lakes and creeks were fed by overflow of the Niger River.McIntosh, 2008, p. 34 The annual Niger flood was diffused throughout the Azawad by a network of palaeochannels spread out over an area of 180 by 130 kilometres. The most important of these paleochannels is the Wadi el-Ahmar, which is 1 200 metres wide at its southern end, at the Niger bend, and winds 70 to 100 kilometres northward. These long interdunal indentations that are framed by Pleistocene longitudinal dunes, characterise the present landscape.McIntosh, 2008, p. 35

File:Mali regions map.png, Kidal, and Timbuktu, as well as the north-east half of the Mopti Region.]]

The MNLA in its declaration of independence announced the first political institutions of the state of Azawad. It included:Salima Tlemçani (7 April 2012) [http://www.elwatan.com/une/le-mali-dans-la-tourmente-aqmi-brouille-les-cartes-a-l-azawad-07-04-2012-165810_108.php "Le mali dans la tourmente : AQMi brouille les cartes à l’Azawad"], El Watan.

• An executive committee, directed by Mahmoud Ag Aghaly.
• A revolutionary council, directed by Abdelkrim Ag Tahar.
• A consultative council, directed by Mahamed Ag Tahadou.
• The general staff of the Liberation Army, directed by Mohamed Ag Najem.

Although the MNLA claimed responsibility for managing the country "until the appointment of a national authority" in their declaration of independence, it has acknowledged the presence of rival armed groups in the region, including Islamist fighters under Ansar Dine, the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa, and Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). The MNLA did not establish a formal government, though it pledged to draft a constitution establishing Azawad as a democracy. The main government building is called the Palace of Azawad by the MNLA. It is a heavily guarded building in central Gao that served as the office of the Gao Region's governor prior to the rebellion.{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/mali/9190808/Malians-protest-against-Azawad-independence.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406211320/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/mali/9190808/Malians-protest-against-Azawad-independence.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=6 April 2012|title=Malians protest against Azawad independence|work=The Telegraph|date=6 April 2012|access-date=6 April 2012}}

The military wing of Ansar Dine rejected the MNLA's declaration of independence hours after it was issued.{{cite news|url=http://www.modernghana.com/news/387765/1/confusion-in-mali-after-tuareg-independen.html|title=Confusion in Mali after Tuareg independence claim|date=6 April 2012|access-date=6 April 2012}} Ansar Dine vowed to establish Islamic sharia law over all of Mali.{{cite news|url=http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/article.aspx?id=54403|title=Qaeda using Mali crisis to expand, France warns|date=4 April 2012|access-date=6 April 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130113100229/http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/article.aspx?id=54403|archive-date=13 January 2013}} At a conference, the Azawadis voiced their disapproval of radical Islamic groups, and asked all foreign fighters to disarm and leave the country.{{cite news|title=Azawad rejects armed groups|author=Jemal Oumar|work=Magharebia|date=30 April 2012|url=http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2012/04/30/feature-02}}

According to a Chatham House Africa expert, Mali was not to be considered "definitively partitioned". The peoples who constitute a major share of the population of northern Mali, such as Songhai and Fulani, considered themselves to be Malian and had no interest in a separate Tuareg-dominated state.[http://www.heraldsun.com.au/ipad/rebels-declare-independent-state/story-fn6s850w-1226320870085 "Rebels declare independent state"], Herald Sun, 7 April 2012. On the day of the declaration of independence, about 200 Malian northerners staged a rally in Bamako, declaring their rejection of the partition and their willingness to fight to drive out the rebels.{{cite news|first=Bate|last=Felix|title=AU, US reject Mali rebels' independence declaration|agency=Reuters|date=6 April 2012|url=https://news.yahoo.com/mali-rebels-declare-independence-north-102935627.html}}{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/mali/9190808/Malians-protest-against-Azawad-independence.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406211320/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/mali/9190808/Malians-protest-against-Azawad-independence.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=6 April 2012|title=Malians protest against Azawad independence|date=7 April 2012|work=The New York Times|access-date=7 April 2012}} A day later, 2,000 protesters joined a new rally against separatism.{{Citation|title=Protests in {{sic|Bam|oko|nolink=y}} as Malians reject independence of North|work=Euronews|date=8 April 2012|url=http://www.euronews.com/2012/04/08/protests-in-bamoko-as-malians-reject-independence-of-north/}}

According to Ramtane Lamamra, the African Union's peace and security commissioner, the African Union has discussed sending a military force to reunify Mali. He said that negotiations with terrorists had been ruled out, but negotiations with other armed factions were still open.{{cite news |last=Nossiter |first=Adam |title=Jihadists' Fierce Justice Drives Thousands to Flee Mali |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/18/world/africa/jidhadists-fierce-justice-drives-thousands-to-flee-mali.html?pagewanted=all |newspaper=The New York Times |date=18 July 2012 |access-date=12 August 2012 |archive-date=18 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120718100629/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/18/world/africa/jidhadists-fierce-justice-drives-thousands-to-flee-mali.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all |url-status=dead}}

Azawad, as proclaimed by the MNLA, includes the regions of Gao, Timbuktu, Kidal, and the northeast half of Mopti; until 1991, when the new Kidal Region was created, it formed the northern portion of Gao Region. As such, it includes the three biggest cities of Timbuktu, Gao and Kidal.

File:Timbuktu 1950 Ethnics figures azawad.JPG

File:Gao 1950 Ethnics figures azawad.JPG

File:Timbuktu 2009 by language.tiff

File:Gao ethnicity chart 2009.tiff

File:Kidal 2009 by language.tiff

Northern Mali has a population density of 1.5 people per square kilometre.[http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Africa/Mali-POPULATION.html Mali – Population], Encyclopedia of the Nations, Retrieved 2 April 2012 The Malian regions claimed by Azawad are listed hereafter (apart from the portion of Mopti Region claimed and occupied by the MNLA). The population figures are from the 2009 census of Mali, taken before Azawadi independence was proclaimed.(In French.) {{Cite web|url=http://instat.gov.ml/documentation/mali.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722215932/http://instat.gov.ml/documentation/mali.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2011-07-22 |publisher=République de Mali: Institut National de la Statistique |title=Resultats provisoires R.G.P.H. 2009 }}. Since the start of the Tuareg rebellion in January 2012, an estimated 250,000 former inhabitants have fled the territory.{{Citation|first=Nick|last=Meo|title=Triumphant Tuareg rebels fall out over al-Qaeda's jihad in Mali|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=7 April 2012|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/mali/9191760/Triumphant-Tuareg-rebels-fall-out-over-al-Qaedas-jihad-in-Mali.html}}

The area was traditionally inhabited by the settled Songhay, and the nomadic Tuareg, Arabs, and Fulas ({{langx|ff|Fulɓe}}; {{langx|fr|link=no|Peul}}).:File:Statistiques.JPG The ethnic composition of the regions in 1950 (at that time, Kidal Region was a part of Gao Region) and in 2009 is shown in the adjacent diagrams.

File:Kidal.jpg: "kdl")]]

The languages of Northern Mali include Hassaniya Arabic, Fulfulde and Songhay, Tamashek.{{cite web|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=mali|title=Languages of Mali|publisher=Ethnologue.com|access-date=6 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120429183429/http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=Mali|archive-date=29 April 2012|url-status=dead}}{{Cite book|last=Heath|first=Jeffrey|title=A Grammar of Koyra Chiini: the Songhay of Timbuktu|publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG|year=1999|location=Berlin|pages=4–5 |isbn=9783110162851|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=93ar5YZt6SEC&q=koyra+chiini+timbuktu }} French, though not spoken natively, is widely used as a lingua franca, as well as negotiations with the government of Mali and foreign affairs.

Most are Muslims, of the Sunni orientations.{{Citation needed|date=April 2012}} Most popular in the Tuareg movement and northern Mali as a whole is the Maliki branch of Sunnism, in which traditional opinions and analogical reasoning by later Muslim scholars are often used instead of a strict reliance on hadith as a basis for legal judgment.{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/360203/Malikiyyah|title=Mālikiyyah|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=16 July 2012}}

Ansar Dine follows the Salafi branch of Sunni Islam. They strongly object to praying around the graves of Malikite 'holymen', and burned down an ancient Sufi shrine in Timbuktu, which had been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2012/05/05/world/africa/mali-heritage-sites/index.html|title=Rebels burn Timbuktu tomb listed as U.N. World Heritage site|date=5 May 2012|publisher=CNN|access-date=16 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120713021857/http://articles.cnn.com/2012-05-05/africa/world_africa_mali-heritage-sites_1_baba-haidara-sufi-shrines-timbuktu-residents?_s=PM:AFRICA|archive-date=13 July 2012|url-status=live}}

Most of the 300 Christians who formerly lived in Timbuktu have fled to the South since the rebels captured the town on 2 April 2012.{{Citation|first=Madeleine |last=Davies |title=Christians in north of Mali flee Tuareg rebels' control |newspaper=Church Times |date=13 April 2012 |url=http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=127144 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120801213933/http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=127144 |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 August 2012 |access-date=16 June 2012 }}

The people living in the central and northern Sahelian and Sahelo-Saharan areas of Mali are the country's poorest, according to an International Fund for Agricultural Development report. Most are pastoralists and farmers practicing subsistence agriculture on dry land with poor and increasingly degraded soils.{{Citation|url=http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/327373/20120412/mali-tuaregs-azawad-civil-war-separatist-poverty.htm|first=Palash R.|last=Ghosh|title=Azawad: The Tuaregs' Nonexistent State in a Desolate, Poverty-Stricken Wasteland|newspaper=International Business Times|date=12 April 2012}} The northern part of Mali suffers from a critical shortage of food and lack of health care. Starvation has prompted about 200,000 inhabitants to leave the region.{{cite web|url=http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2012/1093/in2.htm |first=Gamal |last=Nkrumah |title=Saharan quicksand |work=Al-Ahram Weekly Online |date=12–18 April 2012 |access-date=13 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120412210848/http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2012/1093/in2.htm |archive-date=12 April 2012}}

Refugees in the 92,000-person refugee camp at Mbera,[https://reliefweb.int/map/mauritania/mbera-refugee-camp-bassikounou-south-eastern-mauritania-8-dec-2015 Mbera Refugee Camp], Bassikounou, South-Eastern Mauritania (8 Dec 2015) Mauritania, described the Islamists as "intent on imposing an Islam of lash and gun on Malian Muslims." The Islamists in Timbuktu have destroyed about a half-dozen historic above-ground tombs of revered holy men, proclaiming the tombs contrary to Shariah. One refugee in the camp spoke of encountering Afghans, Pakistanis and Nigerians among the invading forces.{{cite news|last=Nossiter|first=Adam|title=Jihadists' Fierce Justice Drives Thousands to Flee Mali|newspaper=The New York Times|date=18 July 2012}}

{{Portal|Africa}}

• Arab Islamic Front of Azawad
• Ansar Dine
• Arab Movement of Azawad
• Azawadi declaration of independence
• Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin
• Niger Movement for Justice
• Northern Mali conflict
• Popular Movement for the Liberation of Azawad
• Tuareg rebellion (1962–1964)
• Tuareg rebellion (1990–1995)
• Tuareg rebellion (2007–2009)
• Tuareg rebellion (2012)

{{Reflist|30em}}

• Baldaro, E., & Raineri, L. (2020). "Azawad: A Parastate Between Nomads and Mujahidins?" Nationalities Papers, 48(1), 100–115.
• {{Cite book|last1=Dubois|first1=Felix|last2=White|first2=Diana (trans.)|title=Timbuctoo the mysterious|publisher=Longmans|location=New York|year=1896|url=https://archive.org/details/timbuctoomyster01whitgoog}}.
• {{Cite book|last=Fage|first=J. D.|author-link=John Donnelly Fage|title=An Introduction to the History of West Africa|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1956|location=London|page=22

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RDw9AAAAIAAJ&q=an+introduction+to+the+history+of+west+africa}}

• {{Citation|last=Hacquard|first=Augustin|author-link=Augustin Hacquard|year=1900|title=Monographie de Tombouctou|publisher=Société des études coloniales & maritimes|place=Paris|url=https://archive.org/details/monographiedeto00hacqgoog}}. Also available from [http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k103743p Gallica].
• {{Cite book|last=Hunwick|first=J. O.|title=Encyclopaedia of Islam. Volume X|edition=2nd|year=2000|contribution=Timbuktu|publisher=Brill|place=Leiden|url=https://archive.org/stream/encyclopediaofIslam10/Vol.10t-u#page/n532/mode/1up|isbn=90-04-11211-1|pages=508–510}}.
• {{Cite book|last=Hunwick|first=John O.|author-link=John Hunwick|year=2003|title=Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire: Al-Sadi's Tarikh al-Sudan down to 1613 and other contemporary documents|publisher=Brill|place=Leiden|isbn=978-90-04-12822-4}}. First published in 1999 as {{ISBN|90-04-11207-3}}.
• {{Cite book|last=Imperato|first=Pascal James|title=Mali: A Search for Direction|year=1989|publisher=Westview Press|isbn=1-85521-049-5|location=Boulder CO}}.
• {{Cite journal|last=Kaba|first=Lansine|year=1981|title=Archers, Musketeers, and Mosquitoes: The Moroccan Invasion of the Sudan and the Songhay Resistance (1591–1612)|journal=Journal of African History|volume=22|issue=4|pages=457–475|jstor=181298|doi=10.1017/S0021853700019861|pmid=11632225|s2cid=41500711}}.
• {{cite book|last1=Kirkby|first1=Coel|last2=Murray|first2=Christina|chapter=Elusive Autonomy in Sub-Saharan Africa|title=Asymmetric Autonomy and the Settlement of Ethnic Conflicts|editor1-first=Marc|editor1-last=Weller|editor2-first=Katherine|editor2-last=Nobbs|location=Philadelphia|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|year=2010|pages=97–120|isbn=978-0-8122-4230-0}}
• {{Citation|first=Roderick J.|last=McIntosh|title=Before Timbuktu: cities of the Elder World|work=The Meanings of Timbuktu|publisher=HSRC Press|year=2008|pages=31–43|url=http://www.codesria.org/IMG/pdf/The_Meanings_of_Timbuktu_-_Chapter_3_-_Before_Timbuktu__cities_of_the_elder_world.pdf|access-date=9 April 2012|archive-date=27 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927230051/https://codesria.org/IMG/pdf/The_Meanings_of_Timbuktu_-_Chapter_3_-_Before_Timbuktu__cities_of_the_elder_world.pdf|url-status=dead}}
• {{Cite book|last=Saad|first=Elias N.|year=1983|title=Social History of Timbuktu: The Role of Muslim Scholars and Notables 1400–1900|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=0-521-24603-2}}.

{{commons category-inline}}

• {{Official website|http://mnlamov.net/}}
• [http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/Orphans-of-the-Sahara/ Orphans of the Sahara], a three-part documentary series about the Tuareg people of the Sahara desert.

{{coord|16|16|N|0|03|W|type:country|display=title}}

{{Secession in Countries}}

{{Ethnic nationalism}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Tuareg

Category:Territorial disputes of Mali

Category:Separatism in Mali

Category:Disputed territories in Africa

Category:States and territories established in 2012

Azawad

Category:Islamic states

Category:2012 establishments in Mali

Category:Former unrecognized countries

Category:States and territories disestablished in 2013

Category:Proposed countries