The main separatist rebel groups fighting government forces in northern Mali said they are forming a new coalition and appointing a pro-independence figure as their leader, in a statement released Thursday.
Following a five-day meeting at the end of April, representatives from the Permanent Strategic Framework (CSP), an alliance of predominantly Tuareg rebel groups, announced the creation of a “new structure with the aim of achieving the creation of a single political entity bearing the claims of the people of Azawad”.
Azawad is the name of the territory claimed by separatists in northern Mali.
The armed rebel groups lost control of several northern towns at the end of 2023 after an offensive by the Malian army that culminated in the capture of Kidal, a stronghold of the pro-independence movement and a major sovereignty issue for the government.
“One of the primary and major objectives of the new structure is to use every means possible to secure a political and legal status for the territory of Azawad,” the statement said, calling on the “lifeblood of Azawad… to join hands and mobilise to defend their existence on their territory”.
The new alliance called the Permanent Strategic Framework for the Defence of the People of Azawad (CSP-DPA), is chaired by leading pro-independence figure Bilal Ag Acherif, according to the statement released Thursday.
Acherif is a historic opponent of the central government and was the subject of financial sanctions issued by the Malian authorities in March.
Mali, a poor landlocked country in Africa’s Sahel region, has been plunged into crisis since the outbreak of independence and insurgencies in the north in 2012.
The country has been under military rule since back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021, with the junta breaking off ties with former colonial power France and pivoting towards Russia.