Mali War
The Mali War[c] 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.[126]
For other armed conflicts that occurred in northern Mali, see Tuareg rebellion.
On 22 March 2012, President Amadou Toumani Touré was ousted in a coup d'état over his handling of the crisis, a month before a presidential election was to have taken place.[127] Mutinous soldiers, calling themselves the National Committee for the Restoration of Democracy and State (CNRDR), took control and suspended the constitution of Mali.[126] As a consequence of the instability following the coup, Mali's three largest northern cities—Kidal, Gao and Timbuktu—were overrun by the rebels[128] on three consecutive days.[129] On 5 April 2012, after the capture of Douentza, the MNLA said that it had accomplished its goals and called off its offensive. The following day, it proclaimed the independence of northern Mali from the rest of the country, renaming it Azawad.[130]
The MNLA were initially backed by the Islamist group Ansar Dine. After the Malian military was driven from northern Mali, Ansar Dine and a number of smaller Islamist groups began imposing strict Sharia law. The MNLA and Islamists struggled to reconcile their conflicting visions for an intended new state.[131] Afterwards, the MNLA began fighting against Ansar Dine and other Islamist groups, including Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA/MUJAO), a splinter group of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. By 17 July 2012, the MNLA had lost control of most of northern Mali's cities to the Islamists.[132]
The government of Mali asked for foreign military help to re-take the north. On 11 January 2013, the French military began operations against the Islamists.[91] Forces from other African Union states were deployed shortly after. By 8 February, the Islamist-held territory had been re-taken by the Malian military, with help from the international coalition. Tuareg separatists have continued to fight the Islamists as well, although the MNLA has also been accused of carrying out attacks against the Malian military.[133]
A peace deal between the government and Tuareg rebels was signed on 18 June 2013,[134] however on 26 September 2013 the rebels pulled out of the peace agreement and claimed that the government had not respected its commitments to the truce.[135] In mid-2014, the French military in Mali ended its Operation Serval and transitioned to the broader regional counterterrorist effort, Operation Barkhane. Despite a ceasefire agreement signed on 19 February 2015 in Algiers, Algeria, and a peace accord in the capital on 15 April 2015, fighting continued.[136][137]
Starting in 2018, there was an increase in rebel attacks in the Sahel, accompanied by a French troop surge. Mali experienced two successful coups in 2020 and 2021, both orchestrated by the Malian military. After the Malian coup in 2021, the government and French forces in the country had a falling out, with the former demanding the latter's withdrawal. Amid popular Malian anti-French protests and increasing involvement in the war by both the Russian mercenary Wagner Group and the Turkish, the French withdrew their forces from the country entirely by 15 August 2022, ending their presence in the country.[138][139]
In the early 1990s, Tuareg and Arab nomads formed the People's Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MPA) and declared war for independence of the northern part of Mali.[140] Despite peace agreements with the government of Mali in 1991 and 1995 a growing dissatisfaction among the former Tuareg fighters, who had been integrated into the Malian Armed Forces, led to new fighting in 2007.[141] Despite historically having difficulty maintaining alliances between secular and Islamist factions, the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad allied itself with the Islamist groups Ansar Dine and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and began the 2012 Northern Mali conflict.[140]
The MNLA was an offshoot of a political movement known as the National Movement for Azawad (MNA) prior to the insurgency.[142] After the end of the Libyan Civil War, an influx of weaponry led to the arming of the Tuareg in their demand for independence.[143] The strength of this uprising and the use of heavy weapons, which were not present in the previous conflicts, were said to have "surprised" Malian officials and observers.[144]
Though dominated by Tuaregs, the MNLA claimed that they represented other ethnic groups as well,[145] and were reportedly joined by some Arab leaders.[142] The MNLA's leader Bilal Ag Acherif said that the onus was on Mali to either give the Saharan peoples their self-determination or they would take it themselves.[146]
Another Tuareg-dominated group, the Islamist Ansar Dine (Defenders of Faith), initially fought alongside the MNLA against the government. Unlike the MNLA, it did not seek independence, but rather the imposition of Islamic law (Sharia) across Mali.[147] The movement's leader Iyad Ag Ghaly was part of the early 1990s rebellion and has been reported to be linked to an offshoot of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) that is led by his cousin Hamada Ag Hama[148] as well as Algeria's Département du Renseignement et de la Sécurité (DRS).[89]
Mali was going through several crises at once that favored the rise of the conflict:[149]
Resurgence (2023-present)[edit]
UN withdrawal and breakdown of the Algiers agreement[edit]
On 16 June, the Malian junta requested that MINUSMA peacekeepers withdraw from Mali without delay.[311] On 30 June 2023, the UN Security Council approved the request for the removal of peacekeepers.[312] On 25 January 2024, the junta formally announced the termination of the 2015 Algiers peace agreement following months of growing hostilities with Tuareg rebels, citing the alleged refusal by rebel groups to comply with its terms and "acts of hostility" by Algeria.[313]
CMA rebellion[edit]
In response to the alleged refusal by the Malian junta to implement the Algiers agreement with the Tuareg rebels, the main groups that make up the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA)- the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad, the Arab Movement of Azawad, and the High Council for the Unity of Azawad- withdrew from peace talks.[314] They later merged into one group.[61]
The CMA claimed that, on 11 August 2023, they repulsed an attack by the Malian army and Wagner Group forces in Ber. The Malian army, meanwhile, claimed that it had incurred six losses when repulsing an attack on its positions by "terrorists". It was believed that fighting was still ongoing in Ber by 13 August, and MINUSMA announced that it had "expedited its withdrawal from Ber due to the deteriorating security".[315][316]
On 9 September 2023, CMA rebels claimed to have shot down the Malian airforce' only SU-25, visual evidence confirmed the loss of the SU-25 with the registration number TZ-25C.[317] On the same day JNIM also claimed to have shot down a Mi-8 helicopter operated by PMC Wagner, visual evidence published by the group confirms the helicopter's destruction.[318]
On 11 September 2023, the CMA declared itself to be at "war" with the junta.[319] It made this communication from what it claimed to be the first press release of the "Azawadian National Army", and called on civilians to "contribute to the war effort with the aim of defending and protecting the homeland, and thus regaining control of the entire Azawadian national territory".[320] The next day, 12 September, the Permanent Strategic Framework, a coalition of rebels who signed the 2015 Algiers peace agreement, claimed to have briefly seized the town of Bourem and the military camp there from Mali's military and Wagner mercenaries after weeks of fighting, holding the town for some time before withdrawing.[321] The CMA claimed that it lost 9 fighters while killing 97 Malian soldiers, while the junta claimed that it lost 10 soldiers for 47 enemy fighters, although neither allegation could be confirmed.[322] The recent flareups in fighting were in light of MINUMSA's withdrawal from the area.[323] On 19 September, the CMA said they had taken control of two military camps in Lere and shot down an army plane.[324]
During the month of September 2023, four Malian aircraft, including the only Su-25, a Mi-8MT, and a L-39C were shot down by CMA fighters. An L-39C was also captured by CMA combatants.
On 30 September 2023, the Permanent Strategic Framework claimed responsibility for an attack in Dioura, saying that they captured the military base there after two hours of fighting. Mali admitted that its base there had been attacked.[325] The rebels initially claimed to have killed 98 soldiers and taken five prisoner for seven deaths of their own fighters, while Mali's military never specified any details apart from the attacks' confirmation. The rebels later revised the death toll for the Malian soldiers to 81. The attack was the furthest south that the rebels have operated since the resurgence in violence.[326]
The CMA claimed on 1 October 2023 that they had seized the military base at Bamba, Mali, with the Malian government claiming that combat with terrorists was ongoing there.[327]
On 4 October 2023, the CMA claimed to have seized another Malian army base, this time at Taoussa, with no immediate response from the Malian army- the attack became the fifth rebel offensive during the renewed fighting.[328]
Mali counteroffensive[edit]
The Malian army official stated in early October that, "as part of the reorganisation of [their] arrangements in the north", the army was beginning a deployment of military forces in the direction of Kidal, a city still controlled by the CMA.[329] Its primary destinations were to be, specifically, the localities of Tessalit and Aguelhok, towns that still maintain MINUSMA military bases within them.[330] Clashes between the Malian army and the rebels erupted around Anefif on 6 October, with both sides claiming to control the town at the end of the day.[331] Later, a CSP spokesman said that the Malian army controlled Anefif. The Malian army also has said that it expects the MINUSMA base in Kidal to be handed over to the army soon.[332]
Ben Bella of the CMA claimed that fighters from Niger, Algeria, and Libya were coming to help them in the conflict, while a Nigerien rebel leader called on fighters to "join them [the rebels] on the front line".[333] On November 15, the Malian army, supported by Russian mercenary forces, captured the rebel stronghold of Kidal. The seizure of this stronghold is a major victory for the junta and could signal a turning point in the war.[334]
On 20 December, the CSP announced a blockade of all roads leading to the borders with Mauritania, Algeria, and Niger.[335] However, the rebels' announcement has been met with a degree of skepticism. Critics suggest that this could be a propagandistic effort by the separatists to divert attention from their territorial losses. Tuareg rebels announced the death of a high-ranking rebel official, Hassan Ag Fagaga, from a drone strike on 22 December.[336] On 25 December, Malian army successfully recaptured the town of Aguelhok, which they had lost in 2012. Tessalit was also recaptured by Malian army in December.[337]
On 9 February, Wagner and Malian forces captured the Intahaka mine in Mali’s Gao region.[338]
On 29 April 2024, it was reported that Abu Huzeifa, a commander for a Sahelan affiliate of Islamic State (ISGS) was killed during an operation in Menaka region by Malian army. He was involved in Tongo Tongo ambush which killed four U.S. soldiers and four Nigerien soldiers in neighbouring Niger.[339]
On 30 April 2024, in an ambush planned by jihadists, ten Pro-Government militiamen were killed in region outside Gao.[340]
In popular culture[edit]
Mali earned the first win in the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations football championship on 20 January 2013 with a 1–0 win over Niger. After scoring the only goal, Seydou Keita displayed a T-shirt with a peace sign on it.[381] A number of musicians from Mali came together to record the song Mali-ko (meaning peace) and release a video titled Voices United for Mali-'Mali-ko'[382] in early 2013 about the ongoing conflict in the country. The collaboration includes many well-known Malian musicians, including Oumou Sangaré, Vieux Farka Touré, and Amadou & Mariam.[383]
Ceasefire[edit]
A ceasefire was agreed upon on 20 February 2015 between the Malian government and the northern rebels. The terms of the truce state that both sides agreed to "tackle the causes of lasting tensions in the region" as the AFP news agency puts it.[384]
The BBC mentioned that "Mali's leaders have rejected autonomy, but are willing to consider devolved local powers."[385]