Northern Mali
| State of Azawad | ||||||||||
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ⴰⵣⴰⵓⴰⴷ / Azawad أزواد |
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| Unrecognized state | ||||||||||
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.svg) |
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| Capital |
Timbuktu (proclaimed) Gao (provisional) |
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| Languages |
Tuareg · Songhay · Fula Hassaniya Arabic French |
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| Government |
Conseil de transition de l'État de l'Azawad (Transitional Council of the State of Azawad) |
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| President | ||||||||||
| • | 2012 | Bilal Ag Acherif | ||||||||
| Vice President | ||||||||||
| • | 2012 | Mahamadou Djeri Maïga | ||||||||
| Historical era | Northern Mali conflict | |||||||||
| • | Declaration of independence | 6 April 2012 | ||||||||
| • | Battles of Gao and Timbuktu | 26 June 2012 | ||||||||
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Azawad (Tuareg: ⴰⵣⴰⵓⴰⴷ, Azawad; Arabic: أزواد ) is a territory in northern Mali as well as a former short-lived unrecognised proto-state. Its independence was declared unilaterally by the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) in 2012, after a Tuareg rebellion drove the Malian Army from the territory. Initially their effort was supported by various Islamist groups. It rejoined Mali in February 2013, after less than a year of independence.
Azawad, as claimed by the MNLA, comprises the Malian regions of Timbuktu, Kidal, Gao, as well as a part of Mopti region, encompassing about 60 percent of Mali's total land area. Azawad borders Burkina Faso to the south, Mauritania to the west and northwest, Algeria to the north and northeast, and Niger to the east and southeast, with undisputed Mali to its southwest. It straddles a portion of the Sahara and the Sahelian zone. Gao is its largest city and served as the temporary capital, while Timbuktu is the second-largest city, and was intended to be the capital by the independence forces.
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