National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad
The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad or the Azawad National Liberation Movement[6] (Tamasheq: ⵜⴰⵏⴾⵔⴰ ⵏ ⵜⵓⵎⴰⵙⵜ ⴹ ⴰⵙⵍⴰⵍⵓ ⵏ ⴰⵣⴰⵓⴰⴷ, romanized: Tankra n Tumast ḍ Aslalu n Azawad;[7] Arabic: الحركة الوطنية لتحرير أزواد, romanized: al-Ḥarakat al-Waṭaniyat Litaḥrīr ʾĀzawād; French: Mouvement national de libération de l'Azawad, MNLA), formerly the National Movement of Azawad[8] (French: Mouvement national de l'Azawad, MNA), is a militant organization based in northern Mali.
National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad
Bilal Ag Acherif[1] (General Secretary)
Mahmoud Ag Aghaly (President of the political bureau)
Mohamed Ag Najem (Head of military operations)
Moussa Ag Acharatoumane
Ibrahim Ag Bahanga
October 2011 – present
Kidal (until 2023)
Northern Mali (former State of Azawad)
Libya (under Jamahiriya) (2011)
Libya (under NTC) (2011–2012)
Ansar Dine (2011–2012)
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (alleged)[5]
Mali
Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa Ansar Dine (since June 2012)
2012–present Northern Mali conflict
- Tuareg rebellion (2012)
- Battles of Menaka (2012), in January and November
- Battle of Gao
- Battle of In Arab
The movement is mostly made up of ethnic Tuareg, some of whom are believed to have fought in the Libyan army[9] during the 2011 Libyan Civil War (though other Tuareg MNLA fighters were on the side of the National Transitional Council and returned to Mali after that war[10]). The movement was founded in October 2011 and had stated[11] that it includes other Saharan peoples.
The Malian government has accused the movement of having links to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.[5] The MNLA denies this claim. Human Rights Watch and FIDH have accused MNLA of terrorism and war crimes,[12][13] a conclusion supported by the ICC.[14] By 1 April 2012 the MNLA and Ansar Dine were in control of virtually all of northern Mali, including its three largest cities of Kidal, Gao, and Timbuktu. Tensions between the MNLA and Ansar Dine culminated in the Battle of Gao, in which the MNLA lost control of northern Malian cities to Ansar Dine and the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa.
Organization[edit]
Leadership[edit]
One of the founding leaders was said to be Moussa Ag Acharatoumane.[37] Another influential leader in the coalition was Ibrahim Ag Bahanga (as well as his father-in-law Hama Ag Sid'Ahmed, who was also a spokesman for a group in the previous rebellion) from the 1990s and 2006 rebellions. After he was defeated and forced into exile in Libya, he was said to have met with other leaders of the 1990s rebellion who had taken up posts in a new unit of the Libyan army to fight desert warfare. Ibrahim sought to have a proficient force to fight against the Malian state and outside the media spotlight. He was killed on 26 August 2011.
One of the officers he had met in Libya was Colonel Ag Mohamed Najem,[8] who is said by the movement to be the head of its military wing.[21] He is of Malian origin but resigned from the Libyan Army shortly after the uprising to join the Tuareg rebellion in Mali.[24] Colonel Dilal Ag Alsherif is another military leader of the movement.[63]
There are said to be about 40 officers in the MNLA movement.[8] There are also deserters from the Malian Army, including officers. Colonel Nagim is one such officer, who led the charge to capture two cities.[64] The General-Secretary of the movement is Bilal Ag Acherif.[21] The spokesman for the MNLA's political wing is Hama Ag Mahmoud.[65] Following the independence declaration, Mahmoud Ag Aghaly was appointed as the head of the interim Executive Committee of the MNLA that was said to govern "Azawad".[66]
Armed forces and equipment[edit]
Following their victory over the Malian army, the MNLA established their main base at the airport of Gao where they had stocked 30 functional tanks and 10 being repaired. An unnamed commander of the MNLA said that at the beginning they were mainly armed from weapons brought by fighters returning from Libya, but that later of their equipment was seized from the Malian army.[67]
Split-off[edit]
Ibrahim Ag Mohamed Assaleh, a former external relations representative of the MNLA, split off from the party in March 2014 and formed the Coalition for the People of Azawad. He was said to be frustrated at the "hardline" negotiations position Bilal Ag Acherif took when dealing with the Malian government.[68]