Ansar Dine
Ansar Dine ( "ʾAnṣār ad-Dīn", also transliterated "Ançar Deen"; meaning "helpers of the (Islamic) religion") also known as Ansar al-Din (abbreviated as AAD) is a militant Islamist group led by Iyad Ag Ghaly, one of the most prominent leaders of the Tuareg Rebellion (1990–1995) who is suspected of having ties to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, and is led by his cousin . Ansar Dine seeks to impose strict Sharia law across Mali. The group's first action was in March 2012. The organization is not to be confused with the Sufi movement Ançar Dine, started in Southern Mali by Chérif Ousmane Haidara in the 1980s, which is fundamentally opposed to militant Islamism. Ansar Dine is opposed to Sufi shrines.