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.

The goal of the MNLA, to establish a secular and independent state of "Azawad" out of northern Mali, contrasted sharply with the aims of the Islamist groups, who wanted a united Mali under sharia law. Once the Malian government's forces had been evicted from the region, the two ideological camps began to turn against each other.

5 days ago · On April 6, 2012, the Tuareg rebel group National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (Mouvement National pour la Libération de l’Azawad; MNLA) declared that the northern part of Mali was now the independent state of Azawad.

The Azawad conflict has been a conflict in Northern Mali between the MNLA, a Tuareg nationalist group, and a coalition of Islamist groups. The conflict began when Northern Mali declared itself independent from the government, creating the unrecognized state of Azawad.

Jan 14, 2025 · The Azawad Liberation Front is a newly formed political-military entity in Mali, established by Tuareg rebels in December 2024. This group emerged from the dissolution of the Permanent Strategic Framework for the Defense of the People of Azawad coalition.

Jan 10, 2025 · France and the United States view Azawad as a potential destabilizing force that could sustain their influence in the Sahel. An independent Azawad, serving as a launching platform for NATO bases, could guarantee Western dominance in a region essential for migration control and access to resources like gold and uranium.

1 day ago · Azawad is a territory of Mali, which occupies two-thirds of that country, spanning over the southern portion of the Sahara Desert and the Sahel. It is inhabited by different peoples, including Tuaregs, Arabs, Peuls, and Sonrais.

Mar 22, 2024 · The CMA is a mostly secular, Tuareg-Arab separatist political-military coalition seeking independence for Azawad – the Tuareg Berber name for the region they inhabit across the Sahara-Sahel region – northern Mali, Burkina Faso and Nigeria, northwestern Niger, western Libya, and southeastern Algeria.

Azawad is the name for the northern part of Mali. The name translates to Savannah. The region is mostly desert -like. Between 2012 and 2013 it was independent from Mali. It is split into the regions Timbuktu, Gao, and Kidal. The territory has a size of about 882,000 square kilometres (341,000 sq mi).

On 6 April 2012, the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (French acronym: MNLA) unilaterally declared Azawad independent from the Republic of Mali in the wake of a rebellion which was preceded by a string of other Tuareg rebellions. It is called the …