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In pictures: Mali’s Azawad rebels

The Tuareg and Arab rebels, fighting for an independent state, are currently in negotiations with Mali’s government.

In early 2012 the Azawad rebels, both Tuareg and Arab, were able for the first time since the creation of modern Mali in 1960 to completely expel the Malian army from the north. They declared an independent state of Azawad, but with no support or recognition from any outside power.
By Mohamed Vall
Published On 4 Nov 2013

Since Mali’s independence from France in 1960, rebel groups in the country’s arid north – mostly comprised of ethnic Tuaregs – have sought a state of their own. After a coup toppled Mali’s government in 2012, the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) gained control of much of the north and proclaimed an independent state. However, Azawad has not been recognised by any foreign countries.

Although the rebel movement’s leaders have been holding talks with the Malian government in neighbouring Burkina Faso, they are no longer discussing forming an independent state – at least, not publicly. But the militiamen on the ground still hope for a country of their own.

Groups linked to al-Qaeda have pushed the nationalist rebels aside and have taken control of the main cities in Mali(***)s north.
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The al-Qaeda presence hastened foreign intervention, and less than a year after the coup in Mali, France led a military campaign to help the Malian army retake the north.
The Azawad rebels have often been accused of being criminals and drug traffickers.
"We(***)ve taken up arms only to reverse a historical wrong that(***)s been inflicted upon us by colonialism," cried Mouloud, an Azawad Arab rebel commander addressing a crowd of militiamen at a camp.
The Azawad rebel movement(***)s top commanders and political leaders, currently in talks with the Malian government in Burkina Faso, are no longer talking - publicly at least - about independence for Azawad.
But the militiamen on the ground still cling to the dream of a completely independent state for the Tuareg and Arabs in Mali(***)s north.
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"These are our people after 63 years of annexation" to Mali, says Al Amani, a middle-aged field commander.
"We have no schools, no medical centres, mostly no homes. We knew Mali only through onerous taxation on our livestock over the years," Al Amani continues.
"Mali has started an ethnic cleansing operation in the north. Already two-thirds of our people are refugees in neighbouring countries," says Al Amani.
"Our cause is forgotten," Al Amani says. "We are abandoned by every single nation in the world. We are discarded as bandits or terrorists. But in fact we are simply a wronged people. Just because world powers have no political or economic stakes here, they don(***)t care about the wrongs being inflicted on us."