From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Situation in 2020: Goverment held territories are red, Pro-government militias are yellow, Azawad-liberaton forces are green,
al-Qaeda
black and smaller
Islamist
forces white.
The
Mali War
has been ongoing since 2012. The war has three sides. One side is Mali, who are supported by many other countries. Another, many of whom are
Tuareg people
, are
separatists
who want northern Mali - which they call
Azawad
- to become a separate country. Northern Mali is hot
desert
and is in the southern part of the
Sahara
. The third side is
Islamist
groups - including
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
and
al-Qaeda
- who want Mali to be part of an Islamist
caliphate
.
The
United Nations
has reported many
human rights
violations, both by the forces close to the
government
, and by the different rebel groups. Allegedly, there have been
amputations
,
floggings
, and
extrajudicial executions
. A couple was
stoned
in 2012, for allegedly having an
extramarital
affair
. Based on these reports, the
International Criminal Court
started investigations into
war crimes
and human rights abuses. According to the
BBC
, about 250,000 people have left because of the fighting. They are now
refugees
and
internally displaced people
. Another problem is that
World Heritage Sites
are threatened by the war. There are
mosques
built of mud, in
Timbuktu
, which are threatened. In September 2021, a contract was signed between the Malian state and a private Russian military company linked to the Russian military group Wagner. The document provides for the deployment of mercenaries in the country, in liaison with the Malian army, and the protection of senior figures.