Islamic Movement of Azawad | |
---|---|
Leaders | Alghabass Ag Intalla Mohamed Ag Arib |
Foundation | January 2013 |
Dates of operation | January 2013 - May 19, 2013 |
Dissolved | May 19, 2013 |
Split from | Ansar Dine |
Merged into | High Council for the Unity of Azawad |
Country | Mali |
Ideology | Azawadian autonomy, Islamism |
Battles and wars | Mali War |
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.
The Islamic Movement of Azawad emerged in January 2013 following statements by Alghabass Ag Intalla, a former diplomat within Ansar Dine who represented the group at peace talks in Ouagadougou. [1] Ag Intalla also announced that Mohamed Ag Arib, Ansar Dine's former spokesperson, joined the MIA. [1] [2] The MIA's self-declared goal was a peaceful solution to the Mali War, and called on France and Mali to cease action in Kidal and Ménaka, which were under control of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA). [1] The MIA notably omitted the cities of Timbuktu and Gao, which were under control of AQIM and MUJAO. [3]
The MIA declared their intentions to fight extremism and terrorism. Arib told Voice of America that the separation between the MIA and Ansar Dine was conducted by the "moderate" part of the latter, which he stated existed for a long time and were opposed to Ansar Dine's offensive in southern Mali. Arib also stated that the MIA's goals, unlike the MNLA, was autonomy within Mali and not independence. [4]
French anti-terrorism investigator Jean-Louis Bruguière expressed suspicion towards the MIA, claiming it's true motives and origins were unclear. Bruguiere also stated that it was "too early" to negotiate with the MIA, and believed that the group was formed to "gain time in the face of the progression by French and Malian troops." [5]
The Islamic Movement of Azawad was dissolved on May 19, 2013, by Ag Intalla. Members of the group including Ag Intalla joined the High Council for the Unity of Azawad. [6]
Azawad, or Azawagh, was a short-lived unrecognised state lasting from 2012 to 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.
The 2012 Tuareg rebellion was the early phase of the Mali War; from January to April 2012, a war was waged against the Malian government by rebels with the goal of attaining independence for the northern region of Mali, known as Azawad. It was led by the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) and was part of a series of insurgencies by traditionally nomadic Tuaregs which date back at least to 1916. The MNLA was formed by former insurgents and a significant number of heavily armed Tuaregs who fought in the Libyan Civil War.
The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad or the Azawad National Liberation Movement, formerly the National Movement of Azawad, is a political and military organization based in Azawad in northern Mali.
Ansar Dine (Arabic: أنصار الدين ʾAnṣār ad-Dīn, also transliterated Ançar Deen; meaning "helpers of the religion" also known as Ansar al-Din was a Salafi jihadist group led by Iyad Ag Ghaly. Ansar Dine sought to impose absolute sharia across Mali. The group took over the city of Timbuktu in 2012, which prompted the French-led intervention, Operation Serval.
Iyad Ag Ghaly, also known as Abū al-Faḍl, is a Tuareg militant from Mali's Kidal Region. He has been active in Tuareg rebellions against the Malian government since the 1980s – particularly in the early 1990s. In 1988, he founded the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Azawad. In the latest episode of the Tuareg upheavals in 2012, he featured as the founder and leader of the Islamist militant group Ansar Dine.
On 6 April 2012, the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad 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 Independent State of Azawad.
Bilal Ag Acherif is the Secretary-General of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) and president of a briefly independent Azawad.
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 Mali War is an ongoing conflict that started in January 2012 between the northern and southern parts of Mali in Africa. On 16 January 2012, several insurgent groups began fighting a campaign against the Malian government for independence or greater autonomy for northern Mali, which they called Azawad. The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), an organization fighting to make this area of Mali an independent homeland for the Tuareg people, had taken control of the region by April 2012.
The Second Battle of Ménaka was the last battle fought by the state of Azawad, as they were defeated by an Islamist coalition.
The Battle of Aguelhok occurred when rebels from the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) and Islamists groups Ansar Dine and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb attacked a Malian army garrison base in the town of Aguelhok, Kidal Region of Northern Mali on 17 January 2012, as part of the larger Tuareg rebellion to seize all government bases in the region.
The Battle of Khalil took place on 22–23 February 2013 and was part of the Northern Mali conflict, the battle began on the 22nd with two suicide bombings.
The Arab Movement of Azawad is an Arab military organization active in Azawad/northern Mali. Initially known as the National Liberation Front of Azawad, it was formed in early 2012, during the 2012 Tuareg rebellion. The MAA claims to be a secular, non-terrorist organization, whose main objective is to defend the interests of all the Arab peoples of northern Mali.
The Ouagadagou Declaration is the final declaration signed by the six political and military movements of Azawad, following a meeting that took place in Burkina Faso at the end of August 2014. The purpose of the declaration was to put an end to hostilities in northern Mali and to establish a political and legal status for Azawad. It was signed on August 28, 2014 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. During this meeting, the groups were gathered together for the first time since the Ouagadougou Agreements of June 2013. The meeting took place following the first round of the Algiers peace negotiations in July 2014 and before these negotiations resumed in Algiers on September 1, 2014.
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.
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'unité de 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.
The National Alliance for the Protection of Fulani Identity and the Restoration of Justice (ANSIPRJ) was a Fulani nationalist political and military movement formed on June 21, 2016, during the Mali War.
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.
Alghabass Ag Intalla is a Malian Tuareg politician and prominent leader of the High Council for the Unity of Azawad and the Coordination of Azawad Movements.