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 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".