Azawad
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![Map of Azawad, as claimed by the MNLA. Dark grey dots indicate regions with a Tuareg majority. The west is mainly inhabited by Moors and the south by sub-Saharan peoples.](/Images/godic/202412/22/Azawad_in_context4500.JPG")
![Tuaregs at the January 2012 Festival au Désert in Timbuktu, just before the MNLA launched the Azawadi rebellion later in the same month](/Images/godic/202412/22/Touaregs_at_the_Festival_au_Desert_near_Timbuktu,_Mali_20124500.jpg")
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Azawad (Tuareg: ⴰⵣⴰⵓⴰⴷ, Azawad; Arabic:أزواد ) is a territory in northern Mali as well as a former short-lived unrecognised state. Its independence was declared unilaterally by the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) in 2012 after a Tuareg rebellion drove the Malian Army from the territory. Initially their effort was supported by various Islamist groups.