page_title: National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad
section_title: Conflict with Islamist groups
hierarchical_section_title: National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad / History / Conflict with Islamist groups
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Les délégués d'Ansar Dine et du MNLA à Ouagadougou, avec le ministre des affaires étrangères Djibrill Bassolé (16 nov. 2012)
context_page_description: The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad or the Azawad National Liberation Movement, formerly the National Movement of Azawad, is a political and military organisation based in Azawad in northern Mali.
  The movement is mostly made up of ethnic Tuareg, some of whom are believed to have fought in the Libyan army during the 2011 Libyan Civil War. The movement was founded in October 2011 and had stated that it includes other Saharan peoples.
  The Malian government has accused the movement of having links to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. The MNLA denies this claim. By 1 April 2012 the MNLA and Ansar Dine were in control of virtually all of northern Mali, including its three largest cities of Kidal, Gao, and Timbuktu. Tensions between the MNLA and Ansar Dine culminated in the Battle of Gao, in which the MNLA lost control of northern Malian cities to Ansar Dine and the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa.
context_section_description: Although both the MNLA and the various Islamist groups fought against a common foe (the Malian government) in the beginning of the conflict, there were deep ideological differences between them. The goal of the MNLA, to establish a secular and independent state of Azawad out of Northern Mali, contrasted sharply with the aims of the Islamist groups, who wanted a united Mali under Sharia law. Once the Malian government's forces had been evicted the region, the two ideological camps began to turn against each other.
  On 26 May, the MNLA and Ansar Dine announced a pact in which they would merge to form an Islamist state. However, some later reports indicated the MNLA had decided to withdraw from the pact, distancing itself from Ansar Dine.
  On 26 June 2012, the tension came to all-out combat in Gao between the MNLA and the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA), with both sides firing heavy weapons. MNLA Secretary General Bilal ag Acherif was wounded in the battle. The MNLA were soon driven from the city, and from Kidal and Timbuktu shortly after. However, the MNLA stated that it continued to maintain forces and control some rural areas in the region. The following day, Ansar Dine announced that it was in control of all the cities of northern Mali.
  At first, the MNLA retained control of the city of Ménaka, with hundreds of people taking refuge in the city from the rule of the Islamists, and the city of Tinzawatène near the Algerian border. In the same month, a splinter group broke off from the MNLA; calling itself the Front for the Liberation of the Azawad (FPA), stating that Tuareg independence was no longer a realistic goal and that they must concentrate on fighting the Islamists.
  On 16 November 2012, MNLA forces launched an offensive against Gao in an attempt to retake the town. However, by the end of the day, the Tuaregs were beaten back by the MOJWA forces after the Islamists laid an ambush for them. On 19 November 2012, MOJWA and AQIM forces took over Ménaka from the MNLA.
  On 14 January 2013, after the French intervention in the conflict had commenced, the MNLA declared it would fight alongside the French and even the Malian government to "end terrorism in Azawad". At the same time the MNLA warned the Malian forces not to enter territories it considered its own before an autonomy agreement was signed. The spokesman also declared that the MNLA would be a more effective force than those of the neighboring West African nations "because of our knowledge of the ground and the populations".
caption: Ansar Dine and MNLA delegates in Ouagadougou with Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaoré, 16 November 2012.
exif: {}