nstitution suspended. On 6 April 2012, rebels from the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) declared the secession of a new state, Azawad, from Mali. Shortly after, the MNLA were sidelined by Islamist groups associated with Al-Qaeda[citation needed], and dropped their demands for seces

In the days after the military coup, the Tuareg rebels seized much of the desert expanse in northern Mali, declaring it an independent state called Azawad. But the Tr rai •ebels — called the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad, known as the — were then pushed into the background by the fie

closer to the government-held south-west. In November they say they and al-Qaeda fighters capture Menaka, a town on the border with Niger, from the Azawad Tuareg rebels. 2012 November - The West African regional grouping Ecowas agrees to launch a coordinated military expedition to recapture the north