North Mali rebels declare independence
Source: Agencies |
April 7, 2012, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
REBELS of the nomadic Tuareg people who had seized control of Mali's remote north declared independence for their region of Azawad, citing 50 years of bad governance and UN articles on native people's rights.
The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad accused Mali's government of trying to wipe out Tuaregs, including by starving them during droughts.
Rebels led by Malian Tuareg colonels who fought for Moammar Gadhafi in Libya and returned home heavily armed led the rebellion that profited from a March 21 coup in the faraway capital of Bamako.
The NMLA is fighting alongside a smaller but radical Islamist group called the Ansar Dine, or Defenders of the Faith, which earlier announced it was imposing Sharia law in the ancient city of Timbuktu.
The rebels launched their insurgency in January, saying they wanted to establish an independent Tuareg homeland in the north, known as the Azawad. They took only small towns until March 21, when disgruntled soldiers in Bamako overthrew the elected president.
The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad accused Mali's government of trying to wipe out Tuaregs, including by starving them during droughts.
Rebels led by Malian Tuareg colonels who fought for Moammar Gadhafi in Libya and returned home heavily armed led the rebellion that profited from a March 21 coup in the faraway capital of Bamako.
The NMLA is fighting alongside a smaller but radical Islamist group called the Ansar Dine, or Defenders of the Faith, which earlier announced it was imposing Sharia law in the ancient city of Timbuktu.
The rebels launched their insurgency in January, saying they wanted to establish an independent Tuareg homeland in the north, known as the Azawad. They took only small towns until March 21, when disgruntled soldiers in Bamako overthrew the elected president.
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