Ansar Dine Ansar Dine ( " ʾAnṣār ad - Dīn " , also transliterated " Ançar Deen " ) means " helpers of the ( Islamic ) religion " or " defenders of the faith " in Arabic . Ansar Dine is a militant Islamist group led by Iyad Ag Ghaly , one of the most prominent leaders of the Tuareg rebellion in the 1990s . He is suspected of having ties with Al - Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb ( as well as other splinter Islamist groups ) which is led by his cousin Hamada Ag Hama . Ansar Dine wants the imposition of 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 . The group is opposed to Sufi shrines . Organization . Membership . Ansar Dine has its main base among the Ifora tribe from the southern part of the Tuaregs ' homeland . It has been linked with Al - Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb ( AQIM ) because its leader Iyad Ag Ghaly is the cousin of AQIM commander Hamada Ag Hama . In April 2012 , Salma Belaala , a professor at Warwick University who does research on jihadism in North Africa said that this association was false , claiming that Ansar Dine was opposed to Al Qaeda . Ag Ghaly was also previously associated with the 1990 Tuareg rebellion . The group ' s members are reported to be from Mali , Algeria , and Nigeria . Omar Ould Hamaha , who served as Ansar Dine ' s spokesman after April 2012 , became the military leader of the AQIM - affiliated Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa ( MOJWA ) in August 2012 . On 24 January 2013 , a faction calling itself the Islamic Movement for the Azawad split from Ansar Dine . As of January 2013 , this group was led by prominent Tuareg leader Alghabass Ag Intalla . In March 2013 it was designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U . S . Department of State , and similarly classed as a terrorist organization by the United Nations Security Council . Command Structure . In Mopti , the Ansar Dine fighters obtained access to heavy construction equipment from fleeing construction workers and used them to build fighting positions . The fighting positions include an elaborate tunnel network and vehicular obstacles such as trench es . Weapons . Ansar Dine has reportedly carried out at least one convoy of 100 vehicles carrying soldiers equipped with small arms . There have also been rumors that fighters may have been able to obtain weapons from Libya ' s weapons depots after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi . The Ansar Dine arsenal also includes anti aircraft weapons which can be mounted on pickup truck s . Ideology . The group seeks to impose " sharia " law across Mali , including the Azawad region . Witnesses have said that Ansar Dine fighters wear long beards and fly black flags with the Shahada ( Islamic creed ) inscribed in white . According to different reports , unlike the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad ( MNLA ) , Ansar Dine does not seek independence but rather to keep Mali intact and convert it into a rigid theocracy . Participation in 2012 northern Mali conflict . March 2012 . On 21 March 2012 , the group claimed control of Mali ' s vast northeast regions . The " Agence France - Presse " reported that Ansar Dine claimed to occupy the towns of Tinzaouaten , Tessalit , and Aguelhok , all close to the Algerian border , and that they had captured at least 110 civilian and military prisoners . France accused the group of summarily executing 82 soldiers and civilians in capturing Aguelhok , describing the group ' s tactics as " Al - Qaeda - style " . On 22 March , mutineer ing Malian soldiers unhappy with Amadou Toumani Touré overthrew the Malian government in a coup d ' état . Taking advantage of Malian disarray , Ansar Dine and MNLA proceeded to take the towns of Kidal , Gao , and Timbuktu within the following ten days . According to Jeremy Keenan of the School of Oriental and African Studies , Ansar Dine ' s military contribution was slight compared to the much larger MNLA : " What seems to happen is that when they move into a town , the MNLA take out the military base — not that there ' s much resistance — and Iyad [ Ag Aghaly ] goes into town and puts up his flag and starts bossing everyone around about sharia law " . April 2012 . On 3 April , the BBC reported that the group had started implementing Sharia law in Timbuktu . That day , Ag Ghaly gave a radio interview in Timbuktu announcing that Sharia would be enforced in the city , including the veiling of women , the stoning of adulterers , and the punitive mutilation of thieves . According to Timbuktu ' s mayor , the announcement caused nearly all of Timbuktu ' s Christian population to flee the city . On 6 April , the MNLA issued a declaration of independence . However , the military wing of Ansar Dine rejected it hours after it was issued . May 2012 . Ansar Dine was reportedly responsible for the burning of the tomb of a Sufi saint , a UNESCO World Heritage site , on 4 May in Timbuktu . The group also blocked a humanitarian convoy bringing medical and food aid from reaching Timbuktu on 15 May , objecting to the presence of women in the welcoming committee set up by city residents ; after negotiations , the convoy was released on the following day . In Gao , the group reportedly banned video games , Malian and Western music , bars , and football . On 26 May , the MNLA and Ansar Dine announced a pact in which they would merge to form an Islamist state called the " Islamic Republic of Azawad " . June 2012 . However , some later reports indicated that the MNLA had decided to withdraw from the pact , distancing itself from Ansar Dine . MNLA and Ansar Dine continued to clash , culminating in the Battle of Gao on 27 June , in which Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa and Ansar Dine took control of the city , driving out the MNLA . The following day , Ansar Dine announced that it was in control of all the cities of northern Mali . July 2012 . In the summer of 2012 , members of Ansar Dine broke down the doors of the Sidi Yahya Mosque , which , according to legend , were not to be opened until the Last Days . They claimed that reverence for the site was idolatrous , but offered roughly $ 100 U . S . dollar s to repair the mosque . November 2012 . Ansar Dine was in peace talks with Mali ' s neighbours Burkina Faso and Algeria . January 2013 . In late January 2013 , during the French Operation Serval against the Islamist fighters in Northern Mali , a faction split off from Ansar Dine , led by Alghabass Ag Intalla ( h ) . It calls itself the " Islamic Movement of Azawad " ( MIA ) and claims to be ready for negotiations and to reject extremism and terrorism as well as any association with Al - Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb .