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Ansar Dine in Mali: Between Tuareg Nationalism and Islamism

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Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism in Africa

Part of the book series: New Security Challenges Series ((NSECH))

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Abstract

When Captain Amadou Sanogo staged his coup against Malian President Toure on 22 March 2012, one of the reasons he gave for his actions was that Toure did not supply the Malian armed forces with sufficient heavy and new weapons to take on the Tuareg rebellion in the north. Little did Captain Sanogo realise that his coup and the resultant power vacuum in the capital, Bamako, would result in the Tuareg Azawad National Liberation Movement (MNLA) seizing control of northern Mali and the important towns of Timbuktu, Gao and Kidal.1 The secular and Tuareg nationalist MNLA was soon displaced by Iyad Ag Ghali’s Ansar Dine (Defenders of the Faith) Islamist fighters and their allies, AQIM.

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Notes

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of the Free State, Republic of South Africa

    Hussein Solomon

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© 2015 Hussein Solomon

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Solomon, H. (2015). Ansar Dine in Mali: Between Tuareg Nationalism and Islamism. In: Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism in Africa. New Security Challenges Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137489890_4

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