The Kel Adagh (var. Kel Adrar, Kel Adghagh, less commonly Kel Ifoghas) are a
Tuareg
The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym, depending on variety: ''Imuhaɣ'', ''Imušaɣ'', ''Imašeɣăn'' or ''Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group, traditionally nomadic pastoralists, who principally inhabit th ...
confederation of clans (or "''Drum-Groups''") living in the region of the
Adrar des Iforas
The Adrar des Ifoghas (also Adrar des Iforas; Tamasheq: ⴰⴷⵔⴰⵔ ⵏ ⵉⴼⵓⵖⴰⵙ in Tifinagh; Adrar n Ifoghas; Ifoghas' Mountains) is a massif located in the Kidal Region of Mali, reaching into Algeria. It has an area of around ...
highlands in
Mali
Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...
. The name comes from
Tamasheq
Tamashek or Tamasheq is a variety of Tuareg, a Berber macro-language widely spoken by nomadic tribes across North and West Africa in Algeria, Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso. Tamasheq is one of the three main varieties of Tuareg, the others bei ...
"''Kel''" ("those from/of") and "''Adagh''" ("''Mountains''"). In the modern era, not all Tuareg in the Adrar des Iforas are Kel Adagh, while some Kel Adagh are spread through northern
Niger
Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...
and southern
Algeria
Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...
, with populations in the Aïr Mountains, Tassili n'Ajjer, and the Hoggar Mountains. Most Kel Adagh derive from Noble and Warrior castes and their tributaries.
Noble Kel Adagh in Ifoghas include:
* Kel Afella (North) : tributaries of the Amenokal of Adagh.
* Kel Taghlit
* Kel Essouk (Religious caste tributary group)
* Kel Ouzzeyn
* Ifergoumessen
* Iriyaken
Tributaries include around forty tribes, the more notable of which are :
* Taghat Mellet ("''Those of the white horse''")
* Idnan
* Ibatanaten
2012 Tuareg rebellion
In the months leading up to the 2012 Tuareg rebellion, the Islamist Iyad ag Ghaly reportedly attempted to take on the leadership of Kel Adagh, but was rejected. He responded by founding the Islamist group Ansar Dine.
In early 2012, the Tuareg fighters of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) took control of several towns in northern Mali. The gains triggered a 2012 Malian coup d'état, coup in Mali by mutinying soldiers, allowing the MNLA to take the regional capitals of Kidal, Gao, and Timbuktu. ''TIME'' describes Kel Adagh as "the Tuareg group most closely aligned with the rebellion".
See also
* Kel Tamasheq
**Kel Ahaggar
**Kel Ajjer
**Kel Ayr
**Kel Gres
**Iwellemmedan people, Iwellemmedan : Kel Ataram (west) and Kel Dinnik (east)
References
*Portions of this article were translated from the French language Wikipedia article :fr:Kel Adagh, 2008-08-26.
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Tuareg
Tuareg confederations