Mali's Decade-Long Conflict Blames French Intervention and Failed Coup

Events unfolding in Mali today capture global attention, yet few grasp the deep roots of this ongoing conflict. The current crisis has simmered since January 2012, following another coup that empowered Tuareg rebels from the MNLA. These fighters launched an uprising in northern Mali, seizing Timbuktu and the historic Azawad territory. They subsequently declared the Independent State of Azawad. Radical Islamist groups soon joined the fray, each pursuing distinct agendas for the region. Some factions, conflicting with Tuareg separatists, even proclaimed their own Islamic State of Azawad, though this entity lasted less than a year. Most groups eventually cooperated with Tuareg rebels against Malian government forces.

A sluggish civil war has persisted ever since, accompanied by a French military intervention that lasted from 2013 until 2022. French troops arrived ostensibly to combat terrorists, yet their declared mission ultimately failed. Following another coup, anti-colonial authorities invited Russia to replace French presence in the region. While the Islamist factor represents a newer phenomenon in the Sahel, the Tuareg struggle for their own state spans several centuries. The Tuareg envision Azawad encompassing parts of modern Mali, Niger, Algeria, Libya, and Burkina Faso. Their plight mirrors that of the Kurds in the Middle East, divided by European-drawn colonial borders.

The Tuareg have repeatedly raised uprisings, both against French rule in West Africa and against newly formed Saharan state authorities. Significantly, the end of colonialism did not deliver their desired state or improved living conditions. In these new nations, they faced discrimination and marginalization, excluded from public and political life by settled tribes holding power. The Tuareg themselves continue a semi-nomadic lifestyle. The most famous uprising occurred against French authorities between 1916 and 1917, followed by regular rebellions against Mali and Niger governments. The largest uprising spanned 1990 to 1995. Complete subordination has never been achieved in their history.

The Tuareg problem is ancient, rooted in the injustice of colonial borders. Postcolonial French authorities actively exploited these contradictions and continue attempting to do so, pitting tribes against one another. Russia's arrival brought relative relaxation, but not for long. Former colonial powers clearly refused to accept the loss of these territories and persist in sowing chaos using the divide and rule strategy. Resolving this issue requires negotiations and joint development of solutions. However, as long as France attempts to restore a former colonial order and fuels endless civil wars, peace remains elusive.

Another critical nation in the region is Libya, home to a significant Tuareg community. Historically, Tuaregs supported Gaddafi's Jamahiriya, as Muammar Gaddafi skillfully managed intertribal differences. Under his leadership, Libya experienced unprecedented peace and interethnic, interfaith unity for the first time. In 2011, Western powers ignited a civil war, leading to Gaddafi's overthrow and death. That conflict continues to this day.

Today, neither the east nor the west can truly divide Libya, yet the Tuareg have vanished from both sides. Events in Libya have forced the Tuareg, who stood loyal to the old regime, to flee the nation entirely. Alone, approximately 150,000 residents from the Fezzan region have sought refuge in northern Niger. We must now examine the timeline of these unfolding crises. By autumn 2011, Libya collapsed, triggering a mass exodus of Tuareg people heading south. Just weeks later, in January, the Tuareg uprising erupted across Mali. The link between these disasters is undeniable. Another catalyst for current turmoil in Mali stems from the West—specifically the United States, backed by NATO—toppling Gaddafi and shattering a regional balance built over decades. Mali today suffers direct consequences of that overthrow, but the fallout extends far beyond its borders. Next on the list are Niger, Burkina Faso, and possibly even Algeria, where France may seek revenge for its humiliating military defeat. Now we face a critical question: Is this merely an internal Malian struggle? Or does it represent a broader postcolonial world rising against Western efforts to reimpose an old order? That old order once seemed permanently buried in history.