Azawad,or Azawagh,was a short-lived unrecognised state lasting between 2012 and 2013. Azawagh (Azawaɣ) is the generic Tuareg Berber name for all Tuareg Berber areas,especially the northern half of Mali and northern and western Niger. The Azawadi declaration of independence was declared unilaterally by the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) in 2012,after a Tuareg rebellion drove the Malian Armed Forces from the region.
Bilal Ag Acherif,last name alternatively spelled Cherif,is the Secretary-General of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) in Mali. He was president of a briefly independent breakaway state of Azawad from April to July 2012,before the Malian Armed Forces recaptured many cities and Azawad collapsed.
The Battle of Gao was fought between the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) and the Islamist Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA),along with its ally Ansar Dine,in Gao between 26–28 June 2012. By the 28 June,Gao,Timbuktu and Kidal,the three biggest cities in the disputed secessionist region of Azawad within what is recognised as Malian territory,were under the control of Ansar Dine and its Islamist allies.
The first battle of Kidal took place during the Mali war. On 30 March 2012,the city was captured by rebel MNLA and Ansar Dine forces.
The Imghad Tuareg Self-Defense Group and Allies is an armed group in Azawad,Mali. Most of its 500 to 1,000 fighters are Imghad Tuaregs,and the group supports the Malian government.
Hassan Ag Fagaga,born around 1959 or 1966,in Kidal,Mali,was a Malian soldier and a Tuareg rebel.
The Coalition of the People of Azawad,also translated as the Coalition for the People of Azawad (CPA) is a Tuareg political and military movement formed in 2014 during the Mali War.
El Hadj Ag Gamou,born December 31,1964,in Tidermène,Mali,is an Imghad Tuareg Malian division general. Gamou is currently the governor of Kidal Region since November 22,2023,and has also been the head of his faction of Imghad Tuareg Self-Defense Group and Allies since the group's foundation. Prior to his governorship,Gamou served in the Malian army,commanding Malian troops against Ansar Dine and the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) in the early stages of the Mali War.
The High Council for the Unity of Azawad (HCUA) (French:Haut conseil pour l'unitéde l'Azawad) is a Tuareg political movement formed on May 2,2013,during the Mali War. The movement was initially called the High Council of Azawad (HCA) (French:Haut conseil de l'Azawad) before changing its name on May 19,2013.
On July 26,2017,clashes broke out between the pro-government GATIA Imghad Tuareg militia and anti-government Idnane Tuareg rebels from the Coordination of Azawad Movements.
The battle of Kidal took place between July 21 and 22,2016 between GATIA,a pro-government militia consisting of Imghad Tuaregs,against the Coordination of Azawad Movements,consisting of Ifoghas Tuaregs.
Between December 24–25,2015,Ansar Dine militants attacked National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) positions in Talahandak,Mali. Ansar Dine captured the MNLA outpost,and then ambushed CMA reinforcements.
On August 17,2015,clashes broke out between pro-government GATIA militants and rebels from the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA) in the town of Anefis and surrounding areas. The dispute was settled in September.
The Islamic Movement of Azawad (MIA) was a short-lived rebel group advocating for Azawadian autonomy under Islamic law. The group was founded by Alghabass Ag Intalla,and emerged after a split from Ansar Dine following French intervention in northern Mali. The MIA was founded in January 2013,and merged into the High Council for the Unity of Azawad (HCUA) on May 19,2013.
Cheikh Ag Aoussa,nom de guerre Abou Mohame,was a Tuareg rebel leader and prominent drug trafficker.
Achafghi Ag Bohada is a Malian Tuareg rebel and Chief of staff of the High Council for the Unity of Azawad.
Hamada Ag Hama,also known as Abdelkrim Taleb or Abdelkrim al-Targui was a Malian jihadist and emir of Katiba Al Ansar,a brigade in Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
Mohamed Ag Intalla is a Malian Tuareg politician who has served as the amenukal of the Ifoghas Tuaregs since December 20,2014.
The Kidal offensive was an offensive by the Malian government and Wagner Group mercenaries against the rebel coalition Permanent Strategic Framework for Peace,Security,and Development (CSP-PSD) with the aim of capturing the rebel-held region of Kidal. The offensive was part of a renewed conflict between the Malian junta that took power in 2021 and former Tuareg rebel groups that had signed the Algiers Agreement in 2015,creating a ceasefire and de facto rebel control over the region. The offensive was also an attempt by Malian forces to seize control over MINUSMA camps in Kidal Region after the Malian junta had ordered the mission to leave the country by the end of 2023.
The battle of Kidal took place between November 10 and 14,2023,during the Kidal offensive in renewed conflict between the CSP-PSD and the Malian Armed Forces and allied Wagner Group mercenaries during the Mali War. The city of Kidal had been under rebel control since 2014,and the 2015 Algiers Agreement enacted a ceasefire and Kidal Region subsequently was de facto controlled by rebel groups. When Malian and Wagner forces captured the city on November 14,it marked the first time in nine years that all Malian regional capitals were fully under Malian government control.
MNLA (2012)
Ansar Dine (2012-2013)
HCUA (2013-present)
CMA (2016-present)