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28-498: The climate is typical Saharian with very little rainfall and large fluctuations in temperature. The average annual rainfall is around 130 mm but there are large year-to-year variations with 204 mm recorded in 1999 and only 66 mm in 1990. The mountain region of Adrar des Ifoghas was taken by French and Chadian forces on 22 February 2013 as part of the Northern Mali conflict . The area of In Arab, near Anefif ,

56-2508: A battle took place in the village of Tigharghar, killing one Chadian soldier and 6 Islamists. The battle resulted in the Chadians taking the village. 19°07′N 1°45′E  /  19.117°N 1.750°E  / 19.117; 1.750 Northern Mali conflict (2012%E2%80%93present) [REDACTED]   Mali [REDACTED]   Russia (since 2021) [REDACTED]   France (2013–22) Supported by: [REDACTED] MINUSMA (2013–23) Supported by: Non-state combatants: [REDACTED] Ganda Iso [REDACTED] MAA-Loyaliste [REDACTED] MSA (2016–) [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA) [REDACTED] Al-Qaeda and allies [REDACTED] Nigerian jihadist volunteers (2012–13) [REDACTED] Assimi Goïta (2021–) [REDACTED] Choguel Kokalla Maïga (2021–2024) [REDACTED] 6,000–7,000 (pre-war: ~12,150) [REDACTED] 3,000 [REDACTED] 2,000 [REDACTED] 1,400 (2022) [REDACTED] 1,216 [REDACTED] 1,200 [REDACTED] 733 [REDACTED] 650 [REDACTED] 500 [REDACTED] 500 [REDACTED] 500 [REDACTED] 500 [REDACTED] 450 [REDACTED] 400 (2021) [REDACTED] 395 [REDACTED] 300 [REDACTED] 300 [REDACTED] 250 [REDACTED] 144 [REDACTED] 120 [REDACTED] 100 [REDACTED] ~50 Total: 23,564+ [REDACTED] 545 ( EUTM ) [REDACTED] 1,200–3,000 [REDACTED] 181+ killed, 400 captured Total: 1,000–1,500+ killed, captured or deserted (by April 2012) [REDACTED] 428+ killed [REDACTED] 104 killed [REDACTED] 58 killed [REDACTED] 26 killed [REDACTED] 26 killed [REDACTED] Wagner group 25–82+ killed [REDACTED] 15 killed [REDACTED] 27 killed [REDACTED] 10 killed [REDACTED] 7 killed [REDACTED] 7 killed [REDACTED] 5 killed [REDACTED] 4 killed [REDACTED] 6–65 killed (conflict with Malian Army) 26–123 killed (conflict with Islamists) [REDACTED] 115 killed (Conflict with Tuaregs) [REDACTED] 625 killed (French intervention during Operation Serval ) [REDACTED] estimated 2,800+ killed and 169+ captured due

84-566: 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. On 22 March 2012, President Amadou Toumani Touré was ousted in

112-552: A coup d'état over his handling of the crisis, a month before a presidential election was to have taken place. Mutinous soldiers, calling themselves the National Committee for the Restoration of Democracy and State (CNRDR), took control and suspended the constitution of Mali . As a consequence of the instability following the coup, Mali's three largest northern cities— Kidal , Gao and Timbuktu —were overrun by

140-637: 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. 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

168-642: Is a massif located in the Kidal Region of Mali , reaching into Algeria . It has an area of around 250,000 square kilometers (97,000 square miles). The Adrar des Ifoghas area is characterized by wide, shallow valleys and is strewn with piles of eroded granite blocks. The massif's valleys open to the Tamesna plain on the east, to the Telemsi fosse on the west, to the western basin of the Azaouak valley on

196-410: Is rich in archaeological remains, particularly rock drawings which depict men hunting, farming and cattle-rearing. The skeleton of Asselar man (c. 6,400 BP) was also found in the area by Wladimir Besnard and Théodore Monod . The Adrar des Ifoghas has also become popular for treks . Research by Patrice Cressier provides insight into the architectural and cultural significance of four mosques in

224-601: 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. The MNLA was an offshoot of a political movement known as the National Movement for Azawad (MNA) prior to the insurgency. After the end of the First Libyan Civil War , an influx of weaponry led to the arming of

252-515: The Adrar des Ifoghas, north of Gao and Agadez. The mosque of Tefis, probably built around 1480, occupied a central position in an oval sacred enclosure and was accompanied by a small fifteenth-century oratory. Another notable mosque in the town of In-Teduq, founded around 1430 by ʿUthman al-Mawhub bin Iflawas, had a central structure divided into three aisles aligned with the qibla. Unfortunately, it

280-706: The French intervention during Operation Barkhane (between January 2020 and April 2021) Tuareg rebellion (2012) : 2012 coup Internal conflict in Azawad : Foreign intervention : 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 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

308-605: The Islamists as well, although the MNLA has also been accused of carrying out attacks against the Malian military. A peace deal between the government and Tuareg rebels was signed on 18 June 2013, 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. In mid-2014, the French military in Mali ended its Operation Serval and transitioned to

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336-536: The Islamists. 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 . 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

364-549: The MNLA took control of the city of Menaka when the Malian army operated what they called a tactical retreat. The violence in the north led to counterprotests in the capital city of Bamako . Dozens of Malian soldiers were also killed in fighting in Aguelhok. On 6 February, rebel forces attacked Kidal , a regional capital. On 4 March 2012, a new round of fighting was reported near the formerly rebel-held town of Tessalit. The next day, three Malian army units gave up trying to lift

392-523: 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 the Russian mercenary Wagner Group and the Turkish, the French withdrew their forces entirely by 15 August 2022, ending their presence in the country. In

420-468: The Tuareg in their demand for independence. 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. Though dominated by Tuaregs, the MNLA claimed that they represented other ethnic groups as well, and were reportedly joined by some Arab leaders. The MNLA's leader Bilal Ag Acherif said that

448-508: 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. Starting in 2018, there was an increase in rebel attacks in the Sahel , accompanied by a French troop surge. Mali experienced two coups in 2020 and 2021, both orchestrated by

476-616: 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. 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. Despite historically having difficulty maintaining alliances between secular and Islamist factions,

504-470: The meticulous spatial organisation of these mosques, structured along an east-west axis and often integrated into sacred oval enclosures, reflected a sense of divine harmony influenced by Sufism. In addition, scholars from Tadmekka established hermitages in Air in the late fifteenth century, which probably contributed to the unique religious architecture of the region. These mosques represent a distinct subset within

532-478: The next day. On 24 January, the rebels retook Aguelhok after the Malian army ran out of ammunition. The next day, the Mali government once again recaptured the city. Mali launched air and land counter operations to take back the seized territory, amid protests in Bamako and Kati . Malian president Amadou Toumani Touré then reorganised his senior commanders for the fight against the rebels. On 1 February 2012,

560-537: The onus was on Mali to either give the Saharan peoples their self-determination or they would take it themselves. 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. The movement's leader Iyad Ag Ghaly

588-479: The pre-Saharan steppe, characterised by their orientation to the qibla and two or three parallel aisles. In 2013, the rugged badlands became a refuge for Islamist fighters fleeing French intervention in the Mali civil war . On 22 February, a battle was fought in Adrar des Ifoghas , killing 25 Chadians, including Abdel Aziz Hassane Adam, the leading Chadian special forces commander in Mali, and 93 Islamists. On 12 March,

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616-503: The qibla. These mosques typically followed a north-south rectangular plan, with narrow aisles aligned with the qibla and strong walls pierced by small openings. While some villages or temporary settlements had only one nave, urban centres such as Assode or Tadmekka had three naves. Unlike mosques in Mauritania, those in Air lacked ornamentation and had a more substantial appearance, without minarets or minbars. Cressier suggested that

644-429: The rebels on three consecutive days. 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. The MNLA were initially backed by the Islamist group Ansar Dine . After the Malian military was driven from northern Mali, Ansar Dine and

672-465: The siege. The United States Air Force air-dropped supplies via C-130 Hercules aircraft in support of the besieged Malian soldiers. The C-130's most likely came from either Ouagadougou , Burkina Faso , or Mauritania , both of which are known to have been used by the United States military . On 11 March, the MNLA re-took Tessalit and its airport, and the Malian military forces fled towards

700-656: The south and to the Tanezrouft on the north. Settlements of the area include Kidal , Aguel'hoc , Boghassa , Essouk and Tessalit . The Adrar des Ifoghas is known locally as "Adagh". "Adrar" is the Berber word for mountain, while "Ifogha" is the name of an aristocratic Tuareg clan, " Kel Ifoghas ", who have dominated the region for generations. Like most Tuareg, the Kel Ifoghas are nomadic , raising camels , goats and sheep for sustenance and for sale. The area

728-543: Was captured by MNLA forces on 29–30 March 2013. The Kidal Cercle contains the following communes : 18°30′N 1°25′E  /  18.500°N 1.417°E  / 18.500; 1.417 This Mali location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Adrar des Ifoghas The Adrar des Ifoghas (also Adrar des Iforas ; Tamasheq : ⴰⴷⵔⴰⵔ ⵏ ⵉⴼⵓⵖⴰⵙ in Tifinagh ; Adrar n Ifoghas ; Arabic : أدرار إيفوغاس Ifoghas' Mountains)

756-461: Was destroyed by violence in the mid-sixteenth century. Similarly, the mosque of Shi-n Wasagharan, characterised by two aisles parallel to the Qibla, dates from the sixteenth century, based on epigraphic evidence from nearby necropolises. Meanwhile, the mosque of Es-Suk, located in the medieval city of Tadmekka, had a rectangular hall measuring 23.5 by 15.5 metres and divided into five aisles parallel to

784-760: 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 as well as Algeria's Department of Intelligence and Security . Mali was going through several crises at once that favored the rise of the conflict: The first attacks of the rebellion took place in Ménaka , a small town in far eastern Mali, on 16 and 17 January 2012. On 17 January, attacks in Aguelhok and Tessalit were reported. The Mali government claimed to have regained control of all three towns

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