People's Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (in French: ''Mouvement Populaire de Libération de l'Azawad'', MPLA) was a

Tuareg The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym: ''Imuhaɣ/Imušaɣ/Imašeɣăn/Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group that principally inhabit the Sahara in a vast area stretching from far southwestern Libya to southern Al ...

militant rebel group in northern

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Ma ...

(

Azawad Azawad, or Azawagh (Tuareg: Azawaɣ, or Azawad; ar, أزواد) was a short-lived unrecognised state from 2012 to 2013. Azawagh (''Azawaɣ'') is the generic Tuareg Berber name of all Tuareg Berber areas, especially the northern half of Mal ...

). Initially based amongst exiles in

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

and, especially,

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

, MPLA launched an armed campaign in June 1990. This fed into the disturbances already underway in Mali, and started a civil war. After the overthrow of the Malian government, and the introduction of electoral democracy, the rebellion gradually ceased. On January 6, 1991 MPLA and FIAA signed the

Tamanrasset Accords Tamanrasset (; ar, تامنراست), also known as Tamanghasset or Tamenghest, is an oasis city and capital of Tamanrasset Province in southern Algeria, in the Ahaggar Mountains. It is the chief city of the Algerian Tuareg. It is located an al ...

together with the government of Mali. The accord however failed to prevent further conflict. In December 1991 MPLA joined the

United Movements and Fronts of Azawad United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

(MFUA), which unitedly signed the National Pact peace treaty.Jean-Marc Balencie, Arnaud de La Grange. ''Mondes rebelles: guerres civiles et violences politiques''. Michalon, (1999) p.264-5 Former MPLA fighters are believed to have been involved in the

Kidal Kidal ( Tuareg Berber: ⴾⴸⵍ, KDL, Kidal) is a town and commune in the desert region of northern Mali. The town lies northeast of Gao and is the capital of the Kidal Cercle and the Kidal Region. The commune has an area of about and incl ...

disturbances of 2006.

References

Rebel groups in Mali Tuareg rebels Azawad {{Africa-org-stub

See also

References