The Imghad Tuareg Self-Defense Group and Allies (french: Groupe autodéfense touareg Imghad et alliés,

abbreviated An abbreviation (from Latin ''brevis'', meaning ''short'') is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method. It may consist of a group of letters or words taken from the full version of the word or phrase; for example, the word ''abbrevia ...

GATIA) is an armed group in

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 M ...

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 ...

. Many of its 500 to 1,000 fighters are Imghad Tuaregs, and the group supports the

an government and army.

History

GATIA was founded on 14 August 2014 as a

self-defense Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force ...

group of armed locals, in response to the

Malian Army The Malian Armed Forces (french: links=no, Forces Armées Maliennes) consists of the Army (french: Armée de Terre, links=no), Republic of Mali Air Force (french: Force Aérienne de la Republique du Mali, links=no), and National Guard (french: G ...

's defeat in the

2nd Battle of Kidal The Second Battle of Kidal was a battle during the Mali War, when MNLA forces in control of Kidal attacked Prime Minister Moussa Mara's convoy during a visit to the town. Consequently, Malian government forces launched an offensive to retake t ...

on 21 May 2014 by the

National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad or the Azawad National Liberation Movement (Tamasheq: '; ar, الحركة الوطنية لتحرير أزواد ''al-Ḥarakat al-Waṭaniyat Litaḥrīr ʾĀzawād''; french: Mouvement nati ...

(MNLA). In collaboration with

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

forces, GATIA and the

Movement for the Salvation of Azawad The Movement for the Salvation of Azawad (french: Mouvement pour le salut de l'Azawad; abbreviated MSA) is a Tuareg political movement and armed group in Azawad, Mali. It was founded on 2 September 2016 by Moussa Ag Acharatoumane. History The ...

(MSA) launched a joint-operation on 23 February 2018 to capture or kill Abu Walid al-Sahrawi, the

ISIL An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...

commander in Mali. Sahrawi managed to evade capture, but six ISIL militants were killed in the clashes. GATIA-MSA forces clashed with ISIL militants from 2 to 5 June 2018. ISIL commanders Almahmoud Ag Akawkaw was captured, while Amat Ag Assalate was killed during the battle.

Ideology

GATIA is a pro-

an government group, and is opposed to the MNLA and an independent

References

{{Reflist, 2 Azawad Organizations established in 2014 Political movements in Mali Rebel groups in Mali 2014 establishments in Mali