Malians are the citizens of Mali .
63-696: The largest ethnic group in Mali is the Bambara. The majority of Malians are Muslims. This Mali -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Mali Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in West Africa . It is the eighth-largest country in Africa , with an area of over 1,240,192 square kilometres (478,841 sq mi). The country
126-484: A bloodless military coup led by Moussa Traoré , a day which is now commemorated as Liberation Day . The subsequent military-led regime, with Traoré as president, attempted to reform the economy. His efforts were frustrated by political turmoil and a devastating drought from 1968 to 1974, in which famine killed thousands of people. The Traoré regime faced student unrest beginning in the late 1970s and three coup attempts. The Traoré regime repressed all dissenters until
189-505: A connotation of strength. Fourteenth-century Maghrebi traveller Ibn Battuta reported that the capital of the empire was called Mali. One Mandinka tradition tells that the legendary first emperor Sundiata Keita changed himself into a hippopotamus upon his death in the Sankarani River and that it was possible to find villages in the area of this river called "old Mali". A study of Malian proverbs noted that in old Mali, there
252-727: A democratic, multi-party state. In January 2012, an armed conflict broke out in northern Mali , in which Tuareg rebels took control of a territory in the north, and in April declared the secession of a new state, Azawad . The conflict was complicated by a military coup in March 2012 and later fighting between Tuareg and other rebel factions. In response to territorial gains, the French military launched Operation Serval in January 2013. A month later, Malian and French forces recaptured most of
315-591: A master. In the Tuareg Rebellion of 2012 , ex-slaves were a vulnerable population with reports of some slaves being recaptured by their former masters. In January 2012 a Tuareg rebellion began in northern Mali, led by the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA). In March, military officer Amadou Sanogo seized power in a coup d'état , citing Touré's failures in quelling
378-642: A military base in Kati , outside Bamako. On 7 June 2021, Mali's military commander Assimi Goïta was sworn into office as the new interim president. In 2022 and 2023, the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara saw major gains in the Mali War , occupying large swathes of territory in southeastern Mali. Ansongo and Tidermène were also captured by the group. By mid-2023, the militant group had doubled
441-567: A part of French Sudan . In November 1915, a large anti-French uprising broke out among the tribes in the regions of present-day Mali and Burkina Faso. The last resistance was suppressed only in September 1916. During the suppression of the uprising, over 100 villages were destroyed by French colonial troops. On 24 November 1958, French Sudan (which changed its name to the Sudanese Republic) became an autonomous republic within
504-608: A public appearance in recently recaptured Timbuktu. In August 2013, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita was elected as the new president of Mali in the second round of the election . In the central Mali province of Mopti , conflict has escalated since 2015 between agricultural communities like the Dogon and the Bambara , and the pastoral Fula (or Fulani) people . Historically, the two sides have fought over access to land and water, factors which have been exacerbated by climate change as
567-432: A second term in 1997, which was the last allowed under the constitution. Amadou Toumani Touré , a retired general who had been the leader of the military aspect of the 1991 democratic uprising, was elected in 2002. During this democratic period Mali was regarded as one of the most politically and socially stable countries in Africa. Slavery persists in Mali today with as many as 200,000 people held in direct servitude to
630-544: Is a village called Malikoma, which means "New Mali", and that Mali could have formerly been the name of a city. Another theory suggests that Mali is a Fulani pronunciation of the name of the Mande peoples . It is suggested that a sound shift led to the change, whereby in Fulani the alveolar segment /nd/ shifts to /l/ and the terminal vowel denasalizes and raises, leading "Manden" to shift to /mali/ . The rock art in
693-400: Is bordered to the north by Algeria , to the east by Niger , to the northwest by Mauritania , to the south by Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast , and to the west by Guinea and Senegal . The population of Mali is 24,478,595, 47.19% of which are estimated to be under the age of 15 in 2024. Its capital and largest city is Bamako . The country has 13 official languages, of which Bambara is
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#1732772752933756-728: Is the third largest producer in Africa) and salt . Mali was part of three successive powerful and wealthy West African empires that controlled trans-Saharan trade : the Ghana Empire (for which Ghana is named), the Mali Empire (for which Mali is named), and the Songhai Empire . At its peak in 1300, the Mali Empire was the wealthiest country in Africa with its 14th-century emperor Mansa Musa believed to be one of
819-547: The 2023 Russia–Africa Summit in Saint Petersburg in his first foreign visit since the 2021 coup. After the summit ended, he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss Russia's ongoing economic and humanitarian support for Mali. During the meeting, Goïta accused countries sanctioning Mali of engaging in a "neocolonialist practice", according to a transcript by the Kremlin. Goïta declared his support for
882-479: The 24 March 2019 massacre of 160 Fula villagers . The group denied the attack, but afterwards Malian president Keita ordered the group to disband. The UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Adama Dieng , warned of a growing ethnicization of the conflict. By 2020, more than 600,000 people had been displaced by the conflict in Mali. The United Nations reported that the number of children killed in
945-639: The Battle of Tinzaouaten . On 5 August 2024 the Republic of Mali announced that it was severing diplomatic relations with Ukraine . On 17 September 2024, al-Qaeda linked JNIM militants attacked several locations across Bamako , killing at least 77 people and injuring 255 others. Mali is a landlocked country in West Africa, located southwest of Algeria . It lies between latitudes 10° and 25°N , and longitudes 13°W and 5°E . Mali borders Algeria to
1008-471: The French Armed Forces intervened at the request of the interim government of president Dioncounda Traoré . On 30 January, the coordinated advance of the French and Malian troops claimed to have retaken the last remaining Islamist stronghold of Kidal, which was also the last of three northern provincial capitals. On 2 February, French president François Hollande joined Dioncounda Traoré in
1071-650: The French Community . In January 1959, Mali and Senegal united to become the Mali Federation . The Mali Federation gained independence from France on 20 June 1960. Senegal withdrew from the federation in August 1960, which allowed the Sudanese Republic to become the independent Republic of Mali on 22 September 1960, and that date is now the country's Independence Day . Modibo Keïta
1134-590: The National Committee for the Salvation of the People , a military junta that seized power from former president Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta in the 2020 Malian coup d'état . Goïta later seized power from Bah Ndaw in the 2021 Malian coup d'état and has since been declared interim president of Mali. The son of a military officer, he was trained in the military academies of Mali and notably attended
1197-771: The National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP) junta in Niger in the wake of the 2023 Nigerien coup d'état , and the CNSP later gave the Malian Armed Forces permission to enter Niger . In October 2023, Goïta held a telephone conversation with Putin, his third in less than two months, in which they discussed trade and security relations. Goïta later publicly "expressed [his] gratitude for all
1260-553: The Rally for Mali and Soumaïla Cissé of the Union for the Republic and Democracy , and Keïta was re-elected with 67% of the vote. In September 2018, the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue negotiated a unilateral ceasefire with Dan Na Ambassagou "in the context of the conflict which opposes the group to other community armed groups in central Mali". However, the group has been blamed for
1323-589: The Sahara suggests that northern Mali has been inhabited since 10,000 BC, when the Sahara was fertile and rich in wildlife. Early ceramics have been discovered at the central Malian site of Ounjougou dating to about 9,400 BC, and are believed to represent an instance of the independent invention of pottery in the region. Farming took place by 5000 BC and iron was used by around 500 BC. In the first millennium BC, early cities and towns were created by Mande peoples related to
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#17327727529331386-537: The Soninke people , along the middle Niger River in central Mali, including Dia which began from around 900 BC, and reached its peak around 600 BC, and Djenne-Djenno , which lasted from around 300 BC to 900 AD. By the sixth century AD, the lucrative trans-Saharan trade in gold, salt and slaves had begun, facilitating the rise of West Africa's great empires. There are a few references to Mali in early Islamic literature. Among these are references to "Pene" and "Malal" in
1449-632: The Wagner Group executed around 300 civilian men in central Mali in March 2022. France had started withdrawing French troops from Mali in February 2022, commencing the end of Operation Barkhane . On 2 May, the military government announced breaking its defence accords concluded in 2013 with France, constituting an additional step in the deterioration of Malian–French relations. This latest announcement has been criticized by French authorities and considered as "illegitimate". A UN panel reported that in
1512-537: The establishment of sea routes by the European powers , the trans-Saharan trade routes lost significance. At that time, the Mali Empire's abundance in wealth expanded its commercial assets of salt and gold . One of the worst famines in the region's recorded history occurred in the 18th century. According to John Iliffe , "The worst crises were in the 1680s, when famine extended from the Senegambian coast to
1575-486: The Fula move into new areas. The Dogon and the Bambara communities have formed "self-defense groups" to fight the Fula. They accuse the Fula of working with armed Islamists linked to al-Qaeda . While some Fula have joined Islamist groups, Human Rights Watch reports that the links have been "exaggerated and instrumentalized by different actors for opportunistic ends". Added a top Mali military commander: I’ve discussed
1638-496: The March Revolution. In Bamako, in response to mass demonstrations organized by university students and later joined by trade unionists and others, soldiers opened fire indiscriminately on the nonviolent demonstrators. Riots broke out briefly following the shootings. Barricades as well as roadblocks were erected and Traoré declared a state of emergency and imposed a nightly curfew. Despite an estimated loss of 300 lives over
1701-626: The March and April parliamentary elections, including outrage against the kidnapping of opposition leader Soumaïla Cissé . Between 11 and 23 deaths followed protests that took place from 10 to 13 June. In July, President Keïta dissolved the constitutional court. Members of the military led by Colonel Assimi Goïta and Colonel-Major Ismaël Wagué in Kati , Koulikoro Region , began a mutiny on 18 August 2020. President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta and Prime Minister Boubou Cissé were arrested, and shortly after midnight Keïta announced his resignation, saying he did not want to see any bloodshed. Wagué announced
1764-829: The Prytanée Militaire de Kati and the Joint Military School in Koulikoro . Goïta served as a colonel in the Autonomous Special Forces Battalion, the special forces unit of the Malian Armed Forces . He commanded the Malian special forces in the center of the country with the rank of colonel, and took part in the jihadist insurgency in Mali . In 2018, he met the future Guinean coup leader and president Mamady Doumbouya . Goïta received further military training from
1827-608: The United States, France, and Germany, and had experience working with United States Army Special Forces . Goïta served as the leader of the National Committee for the Salvation of the People , a group of rebels who overthrew Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta in the 2020 Malian coup d'état , and have pledged to initiate new elections to replace him. Because of this pledge, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) pressured Mali's ruling junta to ensure that
1890-521: The Upper Nile and 'many sold themselves for slaves, only to get a sustenance', and especially in 1738–1756, when West Africa's greatest recorded subsistence crisis, due to drought and locusts, reportedly killed half the population of Timbuktu ." Mali fell under the control of France during the Scramble for Africa in the late 19th century. By 1905, most of the area was under firm French control as
1953-497: The adoption of the proposed constitution. 39.4% of registered voters participated in the referendum. The new constitution was controversial, with critics alleging that the referendum was compromised and that the new constitution would make democratic reforms less likely. On 25 July 2023, it was announced that Goïta had pardoned 46 soldiers from Ivory Coast that had been sentenced in December 2022. In July 2023, Goïta attended
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2016-453: The amount of territory it controlled since the overthrow of the previous government and establishment of the junta. On 10 January 2022, Mali announced the closure of its borders and recalled several ambassadors to ECOWAS countries in response to sanctions placed on Mali for deferring elections for four years. On 4 February, France's ambassador was expelled. According to Human Rights Watch , Malian troops and suspected Russian mercenaries from
2079-411: The conflict in the first six months of 2019 was twice as many for the entire year of 2018. Many of the children have been killed in intercommunal attacks attributed to ethnic militias, with the majority of attacks occurring around Mopti . It is reported that around 900 schools have closed down and that armed militias are recruiting children. During the first week of October 2019, two jihadist attacks in
2142-399: The country would be led by a civilian. On 21 September, Goïta was named interim vice president by a group of 17 electors, with Bah Ndaw being appointed interim president. They were to hold the position for 18 months, until new elections. He took the oath of office on 25 September 2020. On 1 October 2020, the "Mali Transition Letter" was published where it was specified, in response to
2205-435: The course of four days, nonviolent protesters continued to return to Bamako each day demanding the resignation of the dictatorial president and the implementation of democratic policies. 26 March 1991 is the day that marks the clash between military soldiers and peaceful demonstrating students which climaxed in the massacre of dozens under the orders of Traoré. He and three associates were later tried and convicted and received
2268-452: The death sentence for their part in the decision-making of that day. Nowadays, the day is a national holiday in order to remember the tragic events and the people who were killed. The coup is remembered as Mali's March Revolution of 1991 . By 26 March, the growing refusal of soldiers to fire into the largely nonviolent protesting crowds turned into a full-scale tumult, and resulted in thousands of soldiers putting down their arms and joining
2331-461: The drought. Peaceful student protests in January 1991 were brutally suppressed, with mass arrests and torture of leaders and participants. Scattered acts of rioting and vandalism of public buildings followed, but most actions by the dissidents remained nonviolent. From 22 March through 26 March 1991, mass pro-democracy rallies and a nationwide strike was held in both urban and rural communities, which became known as les évenements ("the events") or
2394-624: The first three months of 2022, 543 civilians were killed and 269 wounded, warning the 2015 peace agreement between the government and pro-independence groups was threatened by a potential risk of confrontation for the first time in five years. The report also noted a sharp increase in the number of people needing humanitarian assistance over the previous year. Sergey Lavrov , the Russian foreign minister, visited Bamako on 7 February 2023 and said that Moscow would continue to help Mali improve its military capabilities. In June 2023, Mali removed French,
2457-425: The formation of the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP) and promised elections in the future. A curfew was begun and the streets of Bamako were quiet. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) condemned the coup and demanded that Keïta be reinstated as president. On 12 September 2020, the CNSP agreed to an 18-month political transition to civilian rule. Shortly after, Bah N'daw
2520-424: The growing violence with my commanders and with village chiefs from all sides. Yes, sure, there are jihadists in this zone, but the real problem is banditry, animal theft, score settling – people are enriching themselves using the fight against terrorists as a cover. The conflict has seen the creation and growth of Dogon and Bambara militias. The government of Mali is suspected of supporting some of these groups under
2583-560: The guise of being proxies in the war against Islamists in the Northern Mali conflict . The government denies this. One such militia is the Dogon group Dan Na Ambassagou , created in 2016. In the 2018 Malian presidential election held on 29 July 2018, no candidate received more than 50% of the vote in the first round. A runoff was held on 12 August 2018 between the top two candidates, incumbent president Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta of
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2646-418: The handover of power in September 2020. The tensions came to a head on 24 May 2021 after a cabinet reshuffle, where two leaders of the 2020 military coup – Sadio Camara and Modibo Kone – were replaced by N'daw's administration. Later that day, journalists reported that three key civilian leaders – President N'daw, Prime Minister Moctar Ouane and Defence Minister Souleymane Doucouré , were being detained in
2709-476: The language of its former colonizer, as an official language with the approval of a new constitution by 97% of voters in a referendum conducted by the junta. On 7 September 2023, al-Qaeda linked JNIM militants attacked a vessel on the Niger River , killing at least 154 civilians. In July 2024, CSP-DPA rebels and JNIM militants killed dozens of Russian mercenaries and Malian government forces during
2772-579: The late 14th century, the Songhai gradually gained independence from the Mali Empire and expanded, ultimately subsuming the entire eastern portion of the Mali Empire. The Songhai Empire's eventual collapse was largely the result of the Moroccan invasion of 1591 under the command of Judar Pasha . The fall of the Songhai Empire marked the end of the region's role as a trading crossroads. Following
2835-482: The late 1980s. Opposition to the corrupt and dictatorial regime of General Moussa Traoré grew during the 1980s. During this time strict programs, imposed to satisfy demands of the International Monetary Fund, brought increased hardship upon the country's population, while elites close to the government supposedly lived in growing wealth. The government continued to attempt economic reforms, and
2898-406: The late 19th century, during the Scramble for Africa , France seized control of Mali, making it a part of French Sudan ; as the Sudanese Republic, a brief federation with Senegal was formed, achieving independence in 1960. After Senegal's withdrawal, the Republic of Mali was established. After a long period of one-party rule, a coup in 1991 led to a new constitution and the establishment of Mali as
2961-523: The most commonly spoken. The sovereign state 's northern borders reach deep into the middle of the Sahara Desert . The country's southern part, where the majority of inhabitants live, is in the Sudanian savanna and has the Niger and Senegal rivers running through it. The country's economy centres on agriculture and mining with its most prominent natural resources including gold (of which it
3024-414: The north, although the conflict continued. Presidential elections were held on 28 July 2013, with a second-round run-off held on 11 August, and legislative elections were held on 24 November and 15 December 2013. In the early 2020s, Mali experienced two military takeovers by Assimi Goïta . The name Mali is taken from the name of the Mali Empire . It means "the place where the king lives" and carries
3087-404: The north-northeast , Niger to the east , Burkina Faso to the south-east , Ivory Coast to the south , Guinea to the south-west , and Senegal to the west and Mauritania to the north-west . Assimi Go%C3%AFta Général d’Armée Assimi Goïta (born c. 1983) is a Malian military officer who has been interim President of Mali since 28 May 2021. Goïta was the leader of
3150-521: The populace became increasingly dissatisfied. In response to growing demands for multi-party democracy, the Traoré regime allowed some limited political liberalization in the late 1980s, but refused to usher in a full-fledged democratic system. In 1990, cohesive opposition movements began to emerge, and was complicated by the turbulent rise of ethnic violence in the north following the return of many Tuaregs who had migrated to Algeria and Libya during
3213-510: The pro-democracy movement. That afternoon, Lieutenant Colonel Amadou Toumani Touré announced on the radio that he had arrested the dictatorial president, Moussa Traoré. Opposition parties were legalized, a transitional government was formed and a national congress of civil and political groups met to draft a new democratic constitution to be approved by a national referendum. In 1992, Alpha Oumar Konaré won Mali's first democratic, multi-party presidential election, before being re-elected for
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#17327727529333276-627: The rebellion, and leading to sanctions and an embargo by the Economic Community of West African States . The MNLA quickly took control of the north, declaring its independence as Azawad . However, Islamist groups, including Ansar Dine and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) , who had helped the MNLA defeat the government, turned on the Tuareg and took control of the north with the goal of implementing sharia in Mali. On 11 January 2013,
3339-422: The request of ECOWAS, that the vice president "in charge of defense and security issues" would not be able to replace President Bah Ndaw. Goïta was involved in a second coup d'état on 24 May 2021, after which he seized power. President Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane were detained. Goïta claimed that Ndaw was attempting to "sabotage" the transition to democracy, and committed to elections in 2022. The coup
3402-632: The title "president of the transition, head of state" to "lead the transition process to its conclusion". On the same day, he said that he would name a prime minister from the M5-RFP coalition. Choguel Kokalla Maïga was eventually nominated to form a cabinet. On 20 July 2021, Goïta was attacked by a knifeman while praying at the Grand Mosque in Bamako amid festivities for the Eid al-Adha . The attacker
3465-856: The towns of Boulikessi and Mondoro killed more than 25 Mali soldiers near the border with Burkina Faso . President Keïta declared that "no military coup will prevail in Mali", continuing by saying that he does not think it "is on the agenda at all and cannot worry us". On 1 November 2019, the IS-GS militants killed at least 50 soldiers in the 2019 Indelimane attack in the Ménaka Region of Mali. In February 2020, Human Rights Watch documented atrocities against civilians in Central Mali and said that at least 456 civilians were killed, while hundreds were injured from January 2019 until November. Popular unrest began on 5 June 2020 following irregularities in
3528-407: The upper Niger River , and reached the height of power in the 14th century. Under the Mali Empire, the ancient cities of Djenné and Timbuktu were centers of both trade and Islamic learning. The empire later declined as a result of internal intrigue, ultimately being supplanted by the Songhai Empire . The Songhai had long been a major power in West Africa subject to the Mali Empire's rule. In
3591-401: The wealthiest individuals in history. Besides being a hub of trade and mining, medieval Mali was a centre of Islam , culture and knowledge, with Timbuktu becoming a renowned place of learning with its university , one of the oldest in the world and still active. The expanding Songhai Empire absorbed the empire in 1468, followed by a Saadian army which defeated the Songhai in 1591 . In
3654-534: The work of al-Bakri in 1068, the story of the conversion of an early ruler, known to Ibn Khaldun (by 1397) as Barmandana, and a few geographical details in the work of al-Idrisi . Mali was once part of three famed West African empires which controlled trans-Saharan trade in gold, salt, other precious commodities, and slaves majorly during the reign of Mansa Musa from c. 1312 – c. 1337. These Sahelian kingdoms had neither rigid geopolitical boundaries nor rigid ethnic identities. The earliest of these empires
3717-502: Was elected the first president. He quickly established a one-party state, adopted an independent African and socialist orientation with close ties to the East, and implemented extensive nationalization of economic resources. In 1960, the population of Mali was reported to be about 4.1 million. On 19 November 1968, following progressive economic decline, the Keïta regime was overthrown in
3780-421: Was instigated by Goïta's claim that Ndaw failed to consult him about a cabinet reshuffle. It was alleged that one of the motives for the latest coup was the removal of Colonel Sadio Camara as defense minister. Camara was reinstated as defense minister by Goïta following his takeover. On 28 May 2021, the constitutional court declared him interim president of Mali. The court ruling stated that Goïta should carry
3843-403: Was named interim president by a group of 17 electors, with Goïta being appointed vice president. The government was inaugurated on 25 September 2020. On 18 January 2021, the transitional government announced that the CNSP had been disbanded, almost four months after had been promised under the initial agreement. Tensions between the civilian transitional government and the military ran high after
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#17327727529333906-604: Was the Ghana Empire , which was dominated by the Soninke , a Mande -speaking people. The empire expanded throughout West Africa from the eighth century until 1078, when it was conquered by the Almoravids . The Battle of Kirina in 1235, culminated in a victory for the Mandinka under the command of the exiled prince Sundiata Keita , which led to the downfall of the Sosso Empire . The Mali Empire later formed on
3969-496: Was then immediately arrested after failing to stab the President. Overall two men were arrested by the security forces. One of them was however found to be a special forces soldier wrongly assumed to be the attacker's accomplice. The knifeman, identified as a teacher, died in custody five days after the attack. The cause of death is unknown. On 23 June 2023, a constitutional referendum took place, with 97% of voters supporting
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