MALI

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Contents
Introduction...............................................................................................................................................3
Relief...........................................................................................................................................................5
Drainage and soils.....................................................................................................................................6
Climate.......................................................................................................................................................7
Plant and animal life.................................................................................................................................7
People.........................................................................................................................................................8
Ethnic groups.........................................................................................................................................8
Languages..............................................................................................................................................8
Religion...................................................................................................................................................9
Settlement patterns................................................................................................................................9
Demographic trends..............................................................................................................................9
Economy...................................................................................................................................................10
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing...........................................................................................................11
Resources and power...............................................................................................................................11
Gold in Mali.........................................................................................................................................12
Manufacturing.........................................................................................................................................14
Finance and trade....................................................................................................................................14
Services, labour, and taxation.................................................................................................................14
Transportation and telecommunications...............................................................................................15
Government and society..........................................................................................................................16
Constitutional framework...................................................................................................................16
Local government................................................................................................................................17
Justice...................................................................................................................................................17
Political process...................................................................................................................................17
Security.................................................................................................................................................18
Health and welfare..................................................................................................................................18
Housing.....................................................................................................................................................18
Education.................................................................................................................................................19
Cultural life..............................................................................................................................................19
The arts of Mali.......................................................................................................................................20
Cultural institutions................................................................................................................................21

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Sports and recreation..............................................................................................................................21
Media and publishing..............................................................................................................................22
History......................................................................................................................................................22
Precolonial history...............................................................................................................................22
The 19th century..................................................................................................................................23
French West Africa.............................................................................................................................24
Independent Mali.................................................................................................................................25
Political unrest and military intervention..........................................................................................25
Traoré’s rule........................................................................................................................................25
Toward a more democratic future.....................................................................................................26
2012 coup and warfare in the north...................................................................................................27
2018 presidential election....................................................................................................................30
2020 and 2021 coups and transitional administration......................................................................31
Coups and temporary government control in 2020 and 2021..........................................................31
References................................................................................................................................................33

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Introduction
Mali is a country in West Africa with no coastline. This country is the eighth biggest in Africa
and it is next to seven other countries: Algeria, Niger, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea,
Senegal, and Mauritania. Bamako is the capital city of Mali.

Today's Mali is named after the Mali Empire that governed the area from the 13th to the 16th
centuries. In the 14th century, this empire was very big and rich in West Africa. It controlled an
area about two times as big as France today. Mali was mostly a trading empire that got its wealth
from gold. It had many gold mines and trading paths in the Sahel region. The empire had a big
impact on West African culture by spreading its language, laws, and customs. But by the 16th
century, it broke up into many small chiefdoms. The Songhai Empire used to be under Mali's

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control in Timbuktu, but it became very important in the 15th and 16th centuries. Under the
control of Songhai, Timbuktu became a big place for buying and selling things. It was also
famous for its learning and teaching about religion. Timbuktu is still an important place for
culture in West Africa. In the late 16th century, the Songhai Empire was taken over by Moroccan
invaders and broke apart into separate sultanates and kingdoms.

France took over the area in the 1890s and made it part of French West Africa as French Sudan.
In 1960, French Sudan became independent from France and changed its name to the Mali
Federation. After Senegal left, the rest of the land was called the Republic of Mali. For 31 years,
Mali was ruled by one leader until 1991, when the army took over and set up a new government
with different political parties. President Alpha Oumar KONARE was elected as Mali's president
in 1992 and then again in 1997. These were the first elections in Mali where people could vote
for their leader. Following Mali's rule that a president can only serve two terms, Mali's president
stepped down in 2002. He was replaced by Amadou Toumani TOURE, who won a second term
in 2007.

In 2012, growing anger between different ethnic groups and lots of fighters coming from Libya,
some connected to Al-Qaâ™
€ ida, caused a revolt and a military takeover. After the government
was overthrown, the rebels kicked out the soldiers from the three northern areas of the country.
This allowed terrorist groups to set up strong bases in that area. In 2013, France led a fight to
help the Malian government take back control of the northern part of the country. However, the
government doesn't have much control in the area because there are many groups like local
militias, terrorists, and insurgents fighting for power. In 2015, the government of Mali and rebels
from the north agreed on a peace deal with the help of other countries. Although the agreement
was supposed to be put into action in 2017, the people who signed it have not made much
progress. Terrorist groups were not included in the peace talks, and there are still a lot of terrorist
attacks happening.

Ibrahim Boubacar KEITA became the president of Mali in 2013 and was re-elected in 2018.
Apart from some security and organization problems, people from other countries thought the
elections were fair. During KEITA's second term, the country had a lot of problems with
terrorism, robberies, violence between different ethnic groups, and military killings without
going through a fair trial. In August 2020, the army arrested KEITA, the leader of the country,

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his prime minister, and other top government members. The army took control and formed a
group called the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP). In September
2020, the military leaders set up a temporary government. They picked Bah N’DAW, a former
army officer, as the temporary president, and Colonel Assimi GOITA, the leader of the coup, as
the temporary vice president. The temporary government could be in charge for up to 18 months
before having an election.

In May 2021, Colonel Assimi GOITA took over the government with the help of the military,
and the interim president was arrested. This happened after GOITA's friends were removed from
the Cabinet. GOITA became the transition president in June 2021 and Choguel Kokalla Maiga
became the prime minister. In January 2022, countries in West Africa put restrictions on the new
government and closed their borders because the government wanted to extend the time before
the next election by five years. In June 2022, the temporary government and ECOWAS agreed to
a new plan that included having a president elected in February 2024. However, the temporary
government later postponed the elections with no set date and left ECOWAS in January 2024.

Relief
Mali is mostly flat and boring to look at. There are two main types of land in Africa called
plateaus and plains. The rivers Niger and Sénégal flow through these areas. The highland areas
are spread out and not continuous.

The flat areas in the south and southwest are part of the Fouta Djallon highlands of Guinea and
the Guinea Highlands of Guinea and Côte d'Ivoire. They are between 1,000 and 1,600 feet (300
and 500 meters) above sea level, but can be almost 2,000 feet (600 meters) high near Bamako
and more than 2,100 feet (640 meters) near Satadougou.

The plateaus in the southeast and east are like small, uneven hills that are connected to the
Guinea Highlands. In the southeast, the land goes up to almost 1,000 feet (300 meters) near
Sikasso and up to 1,740 feet (530 meters) at Mount Mina. To the east of the Niger River, the
Dogon Plateau slopes down gently towards the river valley. However, it has steep cliffs on the
southeast. These cliffs are almost 3,300 feet high at Bandiagara. In the northwest part of the
region, there is a mountain called Mount Hombori Tondo. It is the highest point in the country,
reaching a height of 3,789 feet (1,155 meters).

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The northern and central parts of Mali consist of the flat lands of the Niger River area and the
Sahara desert. The only noticeable land feature in the north is the Iforas Massif. This place is a
part of the mountainous Hoggar region in the Sahara. It's a plateau made of sandstone that has
been heavily worn away. It goes up to more than 2,000 feet high.

Drainage and soils

Apart from a few occasional streams in the northeast, Mali's water system is made up of the
Sénegal and Niger rivers and the smaller streams that flow into them. The Sénégal river
flows in a northwestern direction across western Mali for about 420 miles (670 km) until it
reaches the Atlantic Ocean. One of the main starting points of the Sénégal River is the
Bakoye River, which comes from the Fouta Djallon. Another starting point is the Bafing River,
which is even further to the east. They come together at Bafoulabé to form the Sénégal
River. The river keeps flowing to the northwest and then to the west around the Mandingue
Plateau. It is interrupted by waterfalls at Gouina and Félou before leaving Mali.

The Niger River goes through Mali for a little over 1,000 miles, which is about 40% of the river's
total length. It starts in the Fouta Djallon and becomes big when it reaches the country near
Kangaba. It moves to the northeast over a high area called Mandingue Plateau, and it stops
because of waterfalls and a dam at Sotuba. When it reaches Koulikoro, the river spreads out in a
big valley and flows gracefully until it meets the Bani River at Mopti. The Niger river makes a
delta in the middle of the land because it is flat and the river doesn't have much slope. The river
splits up into smaller rivers and lakes as it goes north, and then turns east at Kabara. At Bourem,
the Niger River makes a big turn to the southeast called the Niger Bend. It goes past Gao and
Ansongo before reaching the Niger border at Labbezanga.

The amount of water in the Niger River changes at different times of the year. Flooding happens
on the upper Niger River from July to October, at the delta from September to November, and at
the bend from December to January. Regular floods and the fertile soil in the central delta make
the Niger valley a very important place for farming.

The dirt in Mali, outside the Niger Valley, is not good for growing plants. In the southern area,
the soils have iron and are not very deep. They become hard and red because of a lot of water
evaporating. The desert area is made up of sand, rocks, and small stones.

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Climate
Mali is in a very hot and dry place with the sun high up in the sky most of the time. Usually,
there are two main seasons, dry and wet. The dry season goes from November to June and is hot
with low humidity. The alize and harmattan winds affect it. The wind called alize comes from
the northeast from November to January. It makes the weather cooler, with temperatures around
77°F (25°C). From March to June, the harmattan wind blows hot and dry from the east out of the
Sahara desert. It makes the soil dusty and swirls in the wind. It also brings daytime temperatures
of about 104 to 113 degrees Fahrenheit.

The monsoon wind blows from the southwest during the rainy season, which goes from June to
October. Big dark clouds come before heavy rainstorms. These storms also have strong winds,
lots of lightning, and loud thunder. In August it's a bit cooler and there's more rain.

The country has three different climates - one with a lot of rain, one with less rain, and one with
very little rain. The Sudanic climate covers about one-third of the country, from the southern
border to latitude 15° N. The area gets 20 to 55 inches of rain each year and the weather is
usually between 75 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit. The Sahel, which is next to the Sahara Desert,
gets 8 to 20 inches of rain every year and has temperatures of 73 to 97 degrees Fahrenheit on
average. In the Sahara desert, it gets really hot during the day, up to 140 degrees, and cooler at
night, around 41 degrees.

Plant and animal life

There are two main plant zones that match the weather in Sudan and the Sahel. In the Sudanic
zone, there are forests near the border and rivers, but the rest of the area is savanna. The trees in
the area are the néré, also known as the twoball nitta tree, the karite, the cailcedra, and the
kapioka. There are fewer trees as you go north where the Sudanic zone meets the Sahel. The
Sahel has a lot of dry grass and some tough trees like baobab, doum palm, and palmyra. These
trees are also not found in the northern part, where small, prickly plants like the mimosa, acacia,
and cram-cram (a type of grass) grow. There are no plants at all in the northern region of the
Sahara. In the second half of the 20th century, cutting down trees, letting too many animals eat
the grass, and having many dry periods made the desert spread faster into the Sahel region.

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The wildlife in Sudan and Sahel is full of many different types of animals. Big plant-eating
animals are gazelles, antelopes, giraffes, and elephants. The top meat-eating animals are lions,
panthers, and hyenas. Crocodiles and hippos live in the rivers, and there are lots of monkeys,
snakes, and birds, like ostriches. The Baoulé National Park is a loop along the Baoulé River
in the west. In the east, there are two important wildlife sanctuaries called Ansongo-Ménaka
Animal Reserve and Douentza (Gourma) Elephant Reserve.

People
Ethnic groups
In Mali, the idea of ethnicity can change. Sometimes, people marry someone from a different
ethnic group and speak different languages than their ancestors without giving up their culture.
Sometimes, people change their identity when they start speaking Bambara, the most common
language in Mali. However, we can still identify several general groups. The Imazighen and the
Moors live in the Sahelian zone and north of the Niger Bend. They speak and write in Arabic.

The rest of the people are farmers from different groups, some of whom come from the ancient
empires of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai. The Bambara (Bamana) people live by the big river called
Niger River. There are a lot of them. The Soninke people come from the first leaders of the
Ghana empire and live in the western part of the Sahel region. The Malinke people live in the
southwest and carry on the traditions of the Mali empire. The Songhai people are settled in the
Niger valley from Djenné to Ansongo. The Dogon people live in the plateau area near
Bandiagara, and the Bwa, Bobo, Senufo, and Minianka people live in the east and southeast.

The Fulani (Fulbe) used to move around a lot with their animals in the Sahel and Macina region
near Timbuktu. Other important ethnic groups are the Tukulor, Khasonke, Bozo, and Somono.
Although some Tuareg and Fulani used to travel from place to place, most of them now live in
one place all the time.

Languages
Mali's main language is French, but most people speak languages from the Niger-Congo family.
One language, Bambara, is spoken by most of the people as a common language. Mande
languages like Bambara, Malinke, Khasonke, Wasulunka, and Soninke have the most people
who speak them. There are also many people who speak Gur branch languages like Bwa, Moore,

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Senoufo, and Minianka, as well as Atlantic branch languages like Fula and Tukulor, and maybe
Dogon.

In Mali, there are different types of Semitic languages and Songhai languages spoken. The
Moors and the Tuareg both use Arabic for speaking and writing, but the Tuareg also still use
their traditional Amazigh language and their unique writing system, tifinagh, which comes from
ancient Libyan. People use the Songhai language near the Niger River.

Religion
There are three most important religions. Most people in this place follow Sunni Islam. Some
people follow traditional religions, and a small number follow Christianity. The spread of Islam
started in the 11th century and became the main religion for the Soninke, Songhai, Moors,
Tuareg, and many Fulani people. A lot of Gur-speaking people, like the Dogon, and some
Malinke and Bambara, follow traditional African religions. Even after becoming Muslim or
Christian, some people still hold on to their old beliefs.

Settlement patterns
Mali is split into two main areas: the nomadic Sahel and Sahara region, and the farming Sudanic
zone. Around 60% of the people live in the countryside. They live in houses made of thatched
materials in small villages with 150 to 600 people. These villages are surrounded by fields for
farming and areas for animals to feed.

The old towns like Djenné, Timbuktu, Gao, and Ségou are built in a Sudanese style. They have
tall walls made of mud with wooden poles and planks sticking out. This helps support the walls
and also allows for them to be replastered each year. Inside, wooden columns hold up the roof,
which has small openings to let in sunlight. The Djenné mosque is a very big building made from
mud. It is the best example of Sudanese architecture. Timbuktu was a very important place a
long time ago. It was a place where people bought and sold things and also a place of learning.
But trade changed and went to the coast instead of across the desert and Timbuktu was not as
important anymore. The new towns like Bamako, Kayes, San, and Kati have a main area for
businesses. And then there are different areas for people to live around it.

Demographic trends
The number of people in Mali is increasing faster than the average in the world, but it's similar to
the average in its region. People are living longer than before, especially in Africa. More babies

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are being born and fewer people are dying, but the numbers are still high compared to other
places in the world. Many people in the population are young, like in many African populations.
There are not many people living in Mali, especially in the eastern and northeastern areas where
there are only about three people for every square mile. For a long time, not many people lived in
these areas. But when there were droughts in the 1970s and 80s, many Tuareg and other groups
from Mali moved to the towns. If their animals survived, they looked for new places to graze in
Mali or in nearby Burkina Faso. It's not surprising that more people are choosing to live in cities.
About 40% of the population now lives in urban areas. Many people in urban areas don't have
jobs or have jobs that don't pay enough. When there are chances, people from Mali go to France
and other European countries for school and work.

Economy
Mali's economy mostly depends on farming. Most people live in the southern half of the country,
near the Niger and Senegal rivers and their smaller rivers. They don't live in the northern part
because it's mostly desert. People grow their own food and raise animals, but some also make
money by growing crops like cotton and working in other countries at certain times of the year.
The rural areas have not improved much because of bad weather, droughts, and not enough
technology since the 1960s.

The industries and natural resources sectors are not fully developed. Industry mostly focuses on
making food for people to eat in the country. But progress in using the many minerals we have is
not happening very quickly. Most of our foreign money comes from selling basic products like
crops and minerals that can be affected by changes in the world market and currency exchange
rates. Mali doesn't have enough money to pay for the things it buys from France and other
Western countries. Mali has had a lot of problems, including not using its resources well, and
now owes a lot of money because it relies on help from other countries.

In 1960, when the country became independent, the government decided to follow a socialist
economic plan. Government-owned companies and local farming groups were created to control
how things are made and sold. Since the first takeover in 1968, socialist policies have been
reduced by promoting privatization. This process has sped up since democracy started in 1992.

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France, the United States, other European Union countries, and OPEC countries give a lot of
help to Mali. International help is given by groups like the United Nations, the European
Development Fund, and the United Nations Development Programme. Since 1981, the
government of Mali has been encouraged by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund
(IMF), and aid donors to promote private investment and business, open up local markets, and
decrease state influence. The country got help with its debt in the 1990s and 2000s. In 2005, the
IMF canceled all of Mali's debt to them.

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing

Farming for food and for selling are the main ways Mali makes money. About 80% of people
work in farming to support themselves, but the government is also working to help businesses
grow. The inland Niger delta is a very important farming area. Millet, rice, wheat, and corn are
grown for people to eat, while yams and cassava are also important foods. Cotton is grown to
sell, and other crops like peanuts, sugarcane, tobacco, and tea are also sold. Market gardens grow
lots of different vegetables and fruits like cabbages, turnips, carrots, beans, tomatoes, bananas,
mangoes, and oranges. We built irrigation systems on the Niger River near the towns of Ségou
and Mopti. Raising animals like cows, sheep, and goats is important for business. The main
places where livestock is raised are the Sahel and the area around Macina. Fishing is important
for making money, but it has not been as important since the 1980s. However, Mali makes a lot
of fish in western Africa. The inland delta is a very important place for fishing, but it has been
hard to develop the fisheries there because of droughts. Big dams being built and pollution are
also making it hard for this industry to grow.

Resources and power

Mali has a lot of minerals, but they are not being used much yet. Deposits like salt, marble,
kaolin, and limestone are taken from the ground in Taoudenni, Bafoulabé, and Diamou. Gold is
the most important mineral that is used a lot. It brings in a lot of money from other countries.
Gold is mostly found in the southwest part of the country, on a place called the Mandingue
Plateau. The old Malian empire used gold to become rich, but they ran out of gold before the
colonists came in the 1800s.

Mali has a lot of minerals in the ground, but they can't be used for money because Mali doesn't
have good roads and buildings for it. Iron is very common and can be found in many places,

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especially in the west near the borders of Senegal and Guinea. Bauxite is found near Kayes and
on the Mandingue Plateau. Manganese and phosphate deposits are also present in the Ansongo
area. Lithium has been found near Kayes and Bougouni, and there are uranium deposits in the
Iforas. There are a few amounts of tungsten, tin, lead, copper, and zinc.

Mali is endowed with a variety of mineral resources, which play a significant role in the
country's economy. Here are some of the key minerals found in Mali:

Gold in Mali
Gold mining is an important way for Mali to make money, and it has been a big part of the
country's economy for a long time. Here are some important things to know about mining for
gold in Mali:

Mali has a long history of mining gold, dating back to a very long time ago. Mali was a very rich
empire in the 14th century because of their gold trade, especially when Mansa Musa was in
charge.

Mali is good at making gold and is one of the top ten countries in the world for gold production.
Gold mining in Mali brings in a lot of money for the country by selling it to other countries and
also gives the government money to use for things like schools and hospitals.

Where gold is found in Mali: Gold mines are spread out all over Mali, and there are big mining
sites in different parts of the country. The Sikasso and Kayes regions in Mali have mines that
produce a lot of gold.

Small-scale and traditional mining is very important in Mali's gold production, along with big
mining operations. Many small-scale miners use basic tools to dig up gold from shallow deposits
and riverbeds all over the country.

Big companies from different countries dig for gold in Mali. They include Barrick Gold,
AngloGold Ashanti, and B2Gold. These companies use up-to-date methods and tools to take
gold from ore buried deep in the ground.

The government of Mali makes rules for and controls the gold mining industry through the
Ministry of Mines and other related authorities. Mining companies have to follow rules about the

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environment and society, and also give money to the government in the form of taxes and
royalties.

Mining for gold in Mali has many problems. One big issue is that there are armed groups and
fighting in some parts of the country, like the north and central areas. This makes it hard for gold
miners to work safely. In addition, problems with building and tools, rules, and how people get
along can impact how long gold mining can keep going.

Although there are difficulties, gold mining is still an important part of Mali's economy. It
creates jobs, makes money, and helps the country grow. We need to work on making gold
mining in Mali safer and better for the environment so it can continue for a long time.

Bauxite: Mali has significant bauxite reserves, which are primarily found in the southern part of
the country, particularly in the Kayes region. Bauxite is the primary ore used in the production of
aluminum, and Mali's bauxite deposits have attracted interest from international mining
companies.

Iron Ore: Mali has substantial iron ore reserves, mainly located in the southwestern part of the
country, near the border with Guinea. Iron ore mining has the potential to contribute to Mali's
economic development, and there have been efforts to develop large-scale iron ore projects in the
country.

Phosphates: Mali has phosphate deposits, particularly in the Tilemsi Valley in the northeastern
part of the country. Phosphate is an essential mineral used in the production of fertilizers, and
Mali's phosphate reserves have the potential to support agricultural development.

Limestone: Mali has significant limestone deposits, which are used in the construction industry
for the production of cement and other building materials. Limestone is found in various regions
across the country, including the regions of Kayes and Koulikoro.

Other Minerals: In addition to gold, bauxite, iron ore, phosphates, and limestone, Mali also has
other mineral resources, including copper, tin, lithium, and rare earth elements. Exploration and
development activities are ongoing to assess the potential of these mineral resources and attract
investment in the mining sector.

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Overall, Mali's mineral wealth presents opportunities for economic growth and development, but
challenges such as infrastructure deficiencies, regulatory issues, and security concerns need to be
addressed to fully harness the potential of the country's mining sector.

Most of our electricity comes from power plants that burn fuel, but more and more of it is being
made using the power of water. Heat power plants are found in Bamako and other big cities.
Electricity is made by water at the Sotuba and Markala dams on the Niger River, at the Selingue
dam on the Sankarani River, and at the Manantali Dam on the Senegal. The organization in
charge of overseeing the Manantali Dam and other dams on the Senegal River is called the
Organization for the Development of the Senegal River. It includes Mali, Senegal, Mauritania,
and Guinea, and it is responsible for managing the river's resources. Solar-powered pumps give
electricity to villages, and the first solar-power station was built in Dire

Manufacturing
Less than 20% of workers have jobs in factories, and a lot of people work in small businesses.
Many companies make food and other products from farms or buildings. They mostly sell these
products in their own country. Products include cotton, patterned fabric, and covers. There are
also stores that build motorcycles, fix machines, and put together radios. Handicrafts are things
that are made by hand and they are important. The people of Mali are known for making
clothing, pottery, shoes, baskets, and wood carvings.

Finance and trade

Mali is part of a group of 7 French-speaking countries in West Africa that make up the West
African Economic and Monetary Union. These countries have a bank together called the Central
Bank of West African States. Its main office is in Dakar, Senegal. The bank creates the money
used in the member countries. It's called the CFA franc and its value is tied to the euro. This has
been the case since 2002. Mali has many banks and financial institutions. Some insurance
companies from France have offices in Bamako. A stock market in Côte d'Ivoire has a branch in
Bamako, Mali.

The top things we sell to other countries are gold, cotton, and animals. We mostly buy
machinery, appliances, transportation, and food from other countries. Mali does a lot of trade
with China and other Asian countries, as well as with its neighboring countries, South Africa,

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and France. Mali is part of a group of countries in West Africa trying to work together and make
their economies better. Even though there are strict rules at the border, a lot of smuggling, like
bringing in cattle and fish, still happens, especially to nearby countries like Mauritania and Côte
d'Ivoire.

Services, labour, and taxation

Mali has a lot of old places to visit, like Timbuktu and Djenne. Before Mali hosted the 2002
African Cup of Nations football tournament, they did expand their hotels and improve their
infrastructure, even though they still need to work on their transportation system.

Most people in Mali work in farming, and women do a lot of the work. In Mali, workers can join
trade unions like the National Union of Malian Workers. The government makes money from
taxes on things like income, profits, and goods, as well as from international trade.

Transportation and telecommunications

Mali's roads and transportation are mostly found in the South and central part of the country.
Mali doesn't have any coast, so it uses the transport routes of nearby countries and their ports to
reach the sea. Bamako has many big roads that go in different directions. It is connected to cities
in different countries like Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Niger. A road that can be used in
any weather connects Gao and Sevare in Mali. It is also a part of the Trans-Sahara Highway,
which connects Algeria and Nigeria. A train track goes from Koulikoro, not far from Bamako, to
the northwest to Kayes and Kidira, which is on the border with Senegal. There it joins with the
Senegalese railway to Dakar. The train tracks are being fixed and upgraded with money from
people who donate.

Due to the problems with land travel, the Niger and Senegal rivers are important for
transportation in the country. Koulikoro is the main port on the Niger River in Mali, located just
northeast of Bamako. The Niger River in Mali can be traveled on by small boats all year, and by
larger boats from July to January. The Senegal River can be sailed on all year from Ambidedi,
just west of Kayes, to where it flows into Senegal.

Compagnie Aerienne du Mali is an airline in Mali that flies to different places within Mali and to
other countries. Mali has a big airport in Bamako, and also some smaller ones.

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Mali does not have a lot of phones. There aren't many landline phones and they might not work
all the time, but the government tried to make them better in the early 2000s. More people like
using mobile phones instead of landline phones, and the mobile phone service is growing
quickly. Access to the Internet is limited, but it is slowly increasing. Many people in cities go to
Internet cafes to use the Internet.

Government and society

Constitutional framework
The constitution made in 1960 when the country became independent promised to have a
parliament where the people would have a say, but it was not completely put into action. It
stopped when a military government took control in 1968. A new set of rules, voted on by the
people in 1974 and put into action in 1979, made the UDPM the only allowed party in Mali until
1991. In 1992, a new set of rules was agreed to. It said that the government should be divided
into three parts, with one group in charge of making laws. It also made sure that people could
have more than one political party. The people in the Assembly are chosen by a vote and serve
for five years, just like the president. The president can only serve two terms. The president is in
charge and chooses the prime minister and the cabinet.

The rules of the 1992 constitution were stopped after soldiers took over the government on
March 21-22, 2012. The leaders who took over the government after the coup made a new
committee to run the country and a week later they put in place a new set of rules for how the
country would be governed. They got a lot of criticism from other countries for what they did. A
few days after showing their new rules, they said they would go back to the old rules from 1992
and start working on a temporary government. The West African nations made a deal with the
military leaders to go back to having regular citizens in charge of the country. Mali's ex-president
quit his job so that the next person in line, according to the rules in the constitution, could take
over. The president of the National Assembly became the temporary president on April 12, 2012.

17
On September 4, 2013, a president who was chosen by the people took office, ending the
temporary leadership.

In August 2020, the military took control of the government in a coup and formed a new ruling
group called the National Committee for the Salvation of the People. In September, a plan was
made for the country to go back to being run by civilians. It created a temporary government to
lead for up to 18 months, with an interim president and prime minister in charge. A group of 121
people was supposed to make the laws. In May 2021, there was another military takeover, but
the military leaders promised to keep the current temporary government in place.

Local government
The country is split into eight regions, Gao, Kayes, Kidal, Koulikoro, Mopti, Segou, Sikasso, and
Tombouctou, and the area of Bamako. Each region is split into administrative units called
cercles, which are then divided into smaller areas called arrondissements. Each area is overseen
by a governor, who organizes the actions of the smaller regions and puts economic plans into
action. The circles are important for government services. They have headquarters for health
services, the army, the police, local courts, and other government agencies. The arrondissement
is a basic administrative unit. It usually has a school and a dispensary at its center. It is made up
of many villages, each led by chiefs and elected village councils.

Justice
The Supreme Court is in charge of the legal system and has the final say on government issues.
Appeal courts hear cases on appeal, and there are also magistrate's courts. The High Court of
Justice deals with cases where senior government officials have done something wrong. Justices
of the peace can judge regular civil, business, and money cases. They work in the main offices of
the cercles and also go to the big towns of the arrondissements.

Political process
Since 1960, new laws have made it easier for women to do things they couldn't do before, and
have also changed the rules for citizens and how the law works. The 1992 constitution gave
women more rights, but these rights are not always enforced in real life.

18
Mali lets all adults vote in elections. Women and minorities have worked in government
positions, but not many of them: In the early 21st century, ethnic minorities and marginalized
groups together held about one-tenth of the seats in the National Assembly, just like women did.
Women have also been in important government positions and served on the highest court. The
first female prime minister was appointed in 2011.

The country has had different political groups at different times since it became independent in
1960. During the time of the first president, Modibo Keita, the Soudanese Union Party became
the only party. Then the military took control in 1968. In 1979, Mali had a civilian government
again after being ruled by just one political party. The Malian People's Democratic Union, led by
Moussa Traoré, took control. But in 1991, a different military government, led by Amadou
Toumani Touré, took over. In 1992, political parties were allowed again and Alpha Konare from
the Alliance for Democracy in Mali became president. Since then, a lot of different political
groups have been working in Mali.

Security
In Mali, the army makes people serve for two years, and they might not have to do military
work. Mali's military has an army, air force, and a small navy. Paramilitary forces are groups like
the police, guard, militia, and gendarmerie. Foreign soldiers from France, Africa, and the UN
have been in Mali since 2013 to stop Islamist fighters and keep the country safe.

Health and welfare

Mali doesn't have a lot of things for taking care of people's health, so many children and babies
die there. The hospitals in Bamako and Kati have smaller medical centers and other services to
help people in rural areas. At Bamako, research centers take care of patients with eye and skin
diseases in hot climates. International relief organizations also help people with their health care.
Even though medical care has gotten better, Mali still has a hard time because they don't have
enough doctors, hospitals, and equipment. It's also difficult for people in some parts of the
country to get medical help. Many places have issues with not having enough food and not
having proper ways to stay clean. Some diseases like polio, river blindness, schistosomiasis, and
leprosy are getting better. But yellow fever and cholera are still common, and malaria is still a

19
big problem causing a lot of deaths. Mali has not been hit as hard by HIV as some other African
countries, but AIDS is spreading more in cities.

Housing
Houses in Mali are usually made from a mix of dirt and cement. Malian towns have a mix of
different types of buildings, like mud huts, concrete houses, European-style villas, and mosques
and government buildings in the Sudanese style. The Dogon people made their houses in the
Bandiagara Escarpment, which became a special place in 1989 because of its importance. These
houses are made of mud and have flat roofs where people can sleep in nice weather. The
granaries have roofs that look like cones and all the buildings have pretty doors. Some houses,
like the old ones in Djenné, were built on small hills to stay safe from floods that happen at
certain times of the year.

Education
Before 1994, only French was used for teaching in schools. But then, they started using national
languages like Bambara and Fula in primary schools. Mali's education system is similar to the
one in France, which used to rule over Mali. In this system, kids have to go to school from age 7
to 16. It's They have to go to both primary and secondary school. It takes nine years to finish
both. The lycee is a school where students study for the last three years of their secondary
education. The University of Bamako and other state colleges offer education that is focused on
meeting the government's needs. They have programs for teachers, administrators, engineers,
farmers, veterinarians, and doctors. A lot of Mali's college students go to other countries, like
France and Senegal, to study. Other changes in schools have been about teaching students in
rural areas about trades like sewing, building, and farming along with subjects like French,
history, math, and geography.

In the early 2000s, Mali was a big, poor country where it was very hard to get a good education,
especially in rural areas or for nomadic people in the north. The World Bank started helping Mali
in 2000 by giving them money to improve their schools. At that time, just a little more than half
of the people went to elementary school. The government of Mali wanted to give more chances
for girls to go to school. The number of people who can read in the country is one of the lowest
in the world. It is estimated that only about two-fifths to one-third of the population can read.
Women have a harder time reading and writing than men do.

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Cultural life
Mali is a place where people from different parts of Africa meet and share their culture. It has a
lot of traditions and customs because of this. Furthermore, its position between the Arab
countries in the north and the sub-Saharan African countries in the south has allowed it to be a
place where different cultures come together for a long time.

There are markets in Mali that happen every week in different places. People buy and sell
handmade textiles, fish, and other things at these busy markets. Herders bring their animals like
sheep and goats to sell or trade. Malians go far to go to markets, where they also meet and talk to
other people. All different groups join in; sometimes certain areas of the markets are only for
things made by a certain group. In Mali, mosques are very important to the Muslim people. They
are a place where they gather for prayer services, and also for socializing and cultural activities.
Fridays are especially busy at the mosque because it is the day of the weekly prayer service.

Mali's food is like food in nearby countries. People eat foods like millet, rice, yams, plantains,
beans, and cassava. People like to eat fish, whether it is dried or fresh. When there is not enough
rain, people use fruit from the baobab tree to make porridge.

People in Mali celebrate Christian holidays like Christmas and Easter, as well as Muslim
holidays like Tabaski and Korité. Also, the country has special days to honor the military,
democracy, labor, Africa, and independence. These days are celebrated on January 20, March 26,
May 1, May 25, and September 22. National Complaints Day is a special day in Mali created in
1994. On this day, any Malian citizen can tell the government about their problems without
being punished.

The arts of Mali

The most popular cultural activities are music and dancing. Dogon dancers wear very tall masks
to show how they see the world's development, and Bambara dancers imitate animals in a
fertility dance. Different versions of these dances are frequently seen in shows put on by the
many dance groups in the country. They change traditional parts of the dances to appeal to
tourists. Mali has a group of ballet dancers who perform in many countries. The music made by
women from the southern area called Wassoulou is liked by many people. Many musicians from
Mali are famous around the world. Some of them are Oumou Sangaré, Sali Sidibi, Ali Farka

21
Touré, Amadou Bagayoko and Mariam Doumbia who perform together as Amadou and
Mariam. Another famous musician is Salif Keita, who is related to the founder of the Mali
empire. Their music includes rock and roll and traditional Malian music. The band Tinariwen,
made up of the Tuareg people, became popular in the Western world because of their special
guitar music that fans called "desert blues. "

A Bambara dance headdress made of wood in the shape of an antelope. It represents the spirit
Chiwara, who taught people how to farm. It is from Mali. The farmers wear these headdresses on
a straw hat and dance like antelope when they plant and harvest crops. The Bambara people and
others are really good at making wooden masks, statues, stools, and other things used in their
traditional religions. The Tyiwara is a mask shaped like a gazelle that the Bambara people make.
It is special because it has very detailed lines and a unique look. People in a certain area make
jewelry and leather goods. For example, the Malinke people make jewelry and people around the
Niger Bend make leather items. In cities, people make statues and cloth with patterns to sell to
tourists. Some modern artists from Mali, especially in Bamako, paint and make sculptures using
new styles and materials. Artists learn different types of art at the National Institute of Arts and
at the Artisan Centre of Bamako.

The buildings in the Niger valley are made of mud bricks, stones, and some wood. The
architecture there is very good. The Sudanic style is shown in the tall houses and mosques in
Djenné and Timbuktu. Both cities and the Tomb of Askia are special places recognized by
UNESCO for their old buildings and history. Gao has a pyramid-like structure from the Songhai
empire that is also important. In 2012, because of fighting in northern Mali, Timbuktu and the
Tomb of Askia were put on the UNESCO list of important places that are in danger. Islamic
fighters in Timbuktu broke or ruined some buildings that were important to Sufi Muslims
because they said it was against their religious beliefs.

Cultural institutions
Located in Bamako are the National Archives and National Library of Mali. There's also a
library in the city and a special institute in Timbuktu that keeps old Arabic and African writings.
These places don't have enough money and are frequently shut down. The government is asking
for money from other countries to help keep Mali's history and culture safe.

22
Sports and recreation
The government's support for popular culture is mainly channeled through the Ministry of Youth
and Sports and the Ministry of Culture. Youth groups plan sports, drama, music, and dance
events. Soccer is the most popular sport in Mali, and every neighborhood in the big cities has a
team. Many Malian soccer players have played for teams in Europe, especially in France and
Italy. Salif Keita was the first African player to win the Player of the Year award in 1970. Mali
held the important African soccer tournament in 2002.

Wrestling is the most popular sport in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, including the western
and southern areas of the country. Basketball is also liked by many people. Stories passed down
by talking in the ancient Malian empire tell of really strong wrestlers who were important in their
culture. Even now, people still really respect traditional wrestlers. Matches are fun events with
drums, music, dancing, singing, and people wearing costumes.

Media and publishing

"The constitution promises that the press can be free, and Mali's media is one of the most free in
Africa. " Mali has many newspapers, including one called LâEssorâLa Voix du Peuple that is
owned by the government. Newspapers are not as good as radio at spreading information
because they only reach people who can read and are mainly in Bamako. There are lots of radio
stations that play ads and music, plus one that broadcasts the news, info, and educational shows,
as well as entertainment, culture, and religious programs. More people have radios now, which
helps people in faraway places talk to each other more easily. Television started in 1983 and
most people in the country can watch it, but only a few people outside Bamako have TV. TV
stations usually show news, educational shows, movies from other countries, and religious
programs.

History
Precolonial history
Ancient drawings and writing, as well as very old objects, have been discovered all over Mali.
Human bones from the Stone Age, about 7000 years ago, were discovered in the Sahara Desert
in 1927.

23
The main source of money in early cities and governments in the west and southwest was the
gold found there. A very important place for trading, Djenné-Jeno, started around 250 BCE near
the Niger River and did well until the 11th century CE. Then it became less popular and was
later replaced by Djenne, a trading center that was started by Muslim Soninke around the 13th
century AD. Ancient clay statues from 800 CE were discovered in Mali at Djenne-Jeno and other
places.

For almost a thousand years, goods like gold, slaves, ivory, civet, and gum arabic were traded
from the Niger River valley to North Africa using caravan routes. The Soninke kingdom of
Ghana controlled the trade in the 4th to 11th century. It was located between the Niger and
Senegal rivers. Ghana was badly hurt by the Almoravid invasion in 1076, and the Mandinka
empire of Mali took over in the 13th to 15th centuries. The empire was started around the upper
Niger River. During Mali's rule, the caravan routes changed direction and went towards Djenné
and Timbuktu, which was established around the 11th century. Mali became weaker in the 15th
century, which allowed the Songhai kingdom in the east to become independent. During the time
of Songhai, Djenné and Timbuktu grew as important places for trade and learning about Islam.
In 1591, a group of soldiers from Morocco with guns crossed the Sahara desert and won a battle
against the Songhai people, who didn't have guns. The fall of Songhai power led to political
unrest and disrupted trade.

Finally, new ways to trade gold and slaves were made, but they went to the coast where
Europeans were starting to trade. The Moroccans sent away or killed the Timbuktu scholars
(because they were seen as a danger to the government) and spread out most of their collections
of books and written documents. Morocco's control only reached a little way into Niger in the
places of Gao and Timbuktu. Over time, Morocco's connections with the people who were
descendants of the Moroccan invaders ended. In 1737, the Moroccans lost to the Tuareg people,
who took over the Niger Bend area. In 1833, the Fulani kingdom of Macina also beat the
Moroccans at Dire. In the early 17th century, the Bambara people set up a strong kingdom in
Segou, west of Macina.

The 19th century

During the 19th century, France expanded its control from Senegal to the west, and there were
religious wars called jihads that led to the creation of religious states. Shehu Ahmadu Lobbo

24
(Cheikou Amadou) was a Fulani Muslim leader who took down the ruling Fulani group in
Macina in 1810 and set up a religious government with its main city at Hamdallahi. In the
western region, a Muslim leader named al- Umar Tal was in charge of many important political
events. He led a series of jihads. Umar took over the Bambara kingdom of Segou in 1861 and the
Fulani empire of Macina in 1864. After Ê¿Umar was killed in a fight with the Fulani in 1864, his
large areas of land were split up and given to his sons and leaders. His oldest son, Amadou Tal,
tried to take over the entire Tukulor empire while ruling in Ségou, but he was not successful and
there were many wars inside the empire. He became the leader of the Ségou Tukulor empire. The
people there, mostly Bambara, kept rebelling against his leadership.

The French set up a fort in Medine, Mali in 1855. They saw the Segou Tukulor empire as the
main thing stopping them from taking control of the Niger River valley. Afraid of Britain trying
to take over the area, they tried to talk to them and use their military to keep control of the
eastern region. Between 1880 and 1881, the French were able to take over control from Medine
to Kita, a distance of 200 miles (320 km). This happened mainly because of the work of Capt.
Joseph-Simon Gallieni made agreements with leaders in Bafoulabe and Kita.

In 1883, Gustave Borgnis-Desbordes started fighting against the Tukulor and Samory Touré's
forces. Samory Touré was a Muslim leader who had created a state in the late 1860s. Borgnis-
Desbordes took control of Bamako in that year, which allowed the French to have a presence on
the Niger River. Between 1890 and 1893, Colonel. Louis Archinard did some good fighting that
helped to take over Segou in 1893. Samory was taken to the Côte d'Ivoire by force and caught in
1898, at the same time the little Dyula kingdom of Kenedougou near Sikasso was taken over by
the French soldiers led by Col. HM could be written as "His Majesty" or "Her Majesty. " I hear
In 1894, French officers Gaston Boiteaux, Eugene Bonnier, and Joseph-Jacques-Cesaire Joffre
took over Timbuktu, and by 1899, the southern Sahara was under French control with the help of
camel corps.

French West Africa

What is now Mali was once a part of French West Africa, but its borders and name were changed
several times. For a long time, the area was called the French Sudan and ruled by a governor or
lieutenant governor. The northern part of the Sahara Desert got bigger as the colonizers were
able to control some of the nomadic groups living there, but not all of them. The Kayes-Bamako

25
part of the Ocean-Niger railroad was finished in 1904. It connects Dakar on the coast with the
Niger River. Bamako was chosen as the capital of the colony and it got twice as big from 1902 to
1912. It kept growing really fast after that.

During World War I and World War II, France asked many people from French Sudan to join
their army. They thought that the soldiers from Bambara were strong and brave. Many of the
Senegalese riflemen were actually from Bambara in French Sudan. After the wars, especially
after World War II, veterans gained a lot of respect and were given important roles in the
colonial government. The local people also admired them.

During the time when France controlled the colony, they thought it was not as important as
Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire. The focus was on farming by regular people. The government made
people work, join the military, and pay taxes, which caused some small uprisings in some places.
But it didn't cause big problems for businesses or trading. The Tijani brotherhood was very
influential among Muslims and worked closely with the colonial government. The government
sent important religious leaders on the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.

Independent Mali
Political groups were created in 1946, when a government meeting was set up. The Sudanese
Union-African Democratic Party became the most important party, led by a popular leader
named Modibo Keita who believed in Marxism. In October 1958, the territory was called the
Sudanese Republic. Then, on November 24, 1958, it became a self-governing state in the French
Community. In January 1959, Senegal and the Sudanese Republic came together to create the
Mali Federation, with Keita as the president. The hope that other French-speaking countries
would join the union didn't come true. In August 1960, the federation fell apart because the two
countries couldn't agree on important policies. On September 22, a meeting in the US officially
declared that Mali is now an independent country.

Political unrest and military intervention

Keita, the first president of the new country, quickly replaced French government workers with
Africans, moved the country away from France, established strong relationships with communist

26
countries, and created an economy run by the government. In 1962, Mali started using its own
money that couldn't be changed into other money. But in 1967, Keita talked with the French
about money to help Mali's struggling economy. Keita said he was neutral but often supported
the communist group in world matters. His extreme socialist ideas and changes to the way the
country was run made a lot of people unhappy. This made it easier for army officers to take over
the government. On November 19, 1968, they took control by forcefully removing Keita and his
government from power. Lieutenant led the way. In 1969, Moussa Traoré and other officers
made a 14-person committee to lead Mali. They were in charge until 1979, when the people
voted for a civilian government. In 1971, two officers were removed because they couldn't agree.
In 1978, four other officers who didn't want civilian rule were arrested for planning a coup. Two
of them died in prison later.

Traoré’s rule
In 1974, the people of Mali were very supportive of a new set of rules for how the country is run.
In 1979, civilian rule returned to the country with a political party called the Malian People's
Democratic Union in charge of the government, and Traoré was the leader of the country. In
1979, Traore became president in the elections. He was elected again in 1985. The UDPM, the
only allowed party, won all the seats in the National Assembly. In the 1980s, Traoré allowed
people to vote in elections to choose their local and national leaders. He also handled protests
and stopped some attempts to take over the government.

Traoré always followed a practical foreign policy, staying friendly with both France and the
communist countries. In the 1980s, he tried really hard to make friends with other Western
countries, like the United States. He wanted them to invest in his country, make the economy
more varied, and help businesses grow. Mali and Upper Volta (now called Burkina Faso) fought
two times over a border area in 1974-1975 and 1985. In December 1985, there was a fight that
lasted five days over a piece of land called the Agacher Strip. It's an area of about 1,150 square
miles. The issue went to the International Court of Justice, and in 1986 the territory was divided
in a way that made both parties happy.

In 1991, people in Mali wanted more democracy but the government didn't agree and said the
country wasn't ready for it. Protests and fighting happened in big cities, and the military took
over in March 1991 and put Traore in jail. The new government led by Amadou Toumani Touré

27
promised to go back to civilian rule soon. They had a big meeting with important groups and
unions from the country. In 1992, there was an election and Alpha Konare an important thinker,
became the president.

Toward a more democratic future

The new rules and a government with many parties gave people hope for more democracy in the
future. President Konaré tried to make Mali better, but had trouble because the economy was
weak, there was a lack of rain, the land was turning into desert, government agencies didn't work
well, there were too many government workers, less help from other countries, and the French
money was worth less in 1994. In 1994-95, fights between police and students who were angry
about the economic problems often got very violent. The government had a problem with Tuareg
rebels who came back to their homes in the north of the country after living in Libya and Algeria
because of a drought in the 1970s and '80s. However, Konaré won the election again in May
1997, even though there were accusations of cheating and violating people's rights. The
government became more stable, and they made a delicate peace with the Tuareg rebels.

In 2002, Toure, the previous military leader who gave control of the government to civilians in
1992, became the president of the country with no party affiliation. He was elected again in
2007. His government had to deal with ongoing money problems, but they were helped a bit by
reducing some of the debts in 2003 and 2005. Touré's government had to deal with a lot of
fighting, like problems with a group called the Tuareg rebels and fights between people from
Guinea and Mali over land. These fights led to people getting hurt, killed, and losing their homes
and things they own. The governments of both countries got involved and started joint patrols
along the Mali-Guinea border which had not been done in a long time. They also encouraged the
use of peaceful talks to solve the problems.

The fragile peace in the north didn't last long, as Tuareg rebels started fighting again in 2007.
Another issue in the north was a group called al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghrib (AQIM) from
Algeria. They were causing trouble in Mali and other nearby countries. Tuareg rebels became
more active in 2012 when many of them came back to Mali from Libya, where they had fought
in a revolt, with lots of weapons. Malian soldiers said they didn't have enough weapons and tools
to stop the Tuareg rebels. The rebels were able to force the Malian soldiers out of some towns in
the north and made many people leave the area.

28
2012 coup and warfare in the north
People were unhappy with how the government was dealing with the fighting in the north. This
led to the soldiers rebelling on March 21, 2012, and taking over the government. The next day,
the rebel group took over and suspended the government, putting a new group in charge, led by
Capt. Amadou Haya Sanogo. Amadou Haya Sanogo. The international community, including the
African Union and ECOWAS, quickly spoke out against the coup. Soon after the takeover, both
groups stopped supporting Mali and in April they punished the military leaders and Mali with
penalties. This caused a lack of food and energy and prices to go up.

At the same time, Tuareg rebels and Islamic militants, some of whom were connected to AQIM,
used the chaos in the country to take control of the northern part of the country by April 1. This
included the town of Gao, which had a military base, and the city of Timbuktu. On April 6, 2012,
a rebel group called MNLA said they were creating a new country called Azawad in northern
Mali. The MNLA's decision to claim independence was quickly disapproved by the rest of the
world. Later that day, the junta agreed to a deal that was helped by ECOWAS to bring back
civilian rule to Mali. This happened because the sanctions and the bad situation in the north of
the country were making things worse. In exchange, the punishments were removed. As agreed,
Touré officially quit being the president on April 8, making it possible for the next president to
take over as stated in the constitution. As a result, Dioncounda Traoré, who is the president of the
National Assembly, became the temporary president of Mali on April 12, 2012. Traoré's new job
was not liked by all Malians. In May, a group of junta supporters attacked the presidential palace
and beat him up until he was knocked out. He rested in France for two months before coming
back to Mali at the end of July. Under pressure from ECOWAS to create a government that
includes more people and will likely be more stable, Traoré chose his prime minister, Cheick
Modibo Diarra, again in August. A new government was formed later that month.

While Traoré was not there, the situation in the self-declared state of Azawad became even more
dangerous. In May, two groups, MNLA and Ansar Dine, joined together to rule the north as an
Islamic state. But they disagreed on how strict the Islamic laws should be, so the alliance fell
apart. In early July, Ansar Dine and other groups took over a lot of the land in northern Mali
from the MNLA, including the big towns of Timbuktu, Gao, and Kidal. They started making
people follow Sharīʿah law. Also, the Islamists started to harm or destroy many Sufi
religious shrines that are very important because of their history and culture. They said that the

29
monuments were worshiping idols. Iyad Ag Ghali, the leader of Ansar Dine, said that his group
does not agree with MNLA claiming Azawad as an independent region. He said that Ansar Dine
members see themselves as part of Mali and do not support splitting the country. They also want
to enforce Sharia law in the whole country, not just in the northern area that is being fought over.
By the middle of summer, a very bad situation in the north of Mali made hundreds of thousands
of people leave the area.

In early December, people from the Mali government, Ansar Dine, and the MNLA met with
ECOWAS officials to talk about ending the long crisis. Both rebel groups said they will respect
the country staying together and treating people fairly. They also said they won't support any
form of terrorism or extreme behavior. They agreed to stop fighting for a while and keep talking
with each other later. Before the meeting, the international community got worried that terrorist
groups were getting stronger in the north of Mali. They talked about how to help Mali take back
the territory. Ways to help Mali's military are to give them training and support, and to send a
group of soldiers from different countries to take back the contested area. However, many
soldiers in Mali, including those in charge of the March coup, did not want foreign troops in
Mali.

Soldiers detained Diarra, a political leader in Mali, on December 10, 2012, after he called for
international assistance in the northern region. The next day, they made him quit as prime
minister. They said Diarra was about to do something against the government. Later that day,
Traoré chose Django Cissoko, an experienced government worker, as the new temporary prime
minister. The international community strongly disapproved of the military getting involved in
political matters. A few weeks later, the UN Security Council approved sending a group of
soldiers from different countries, mostly from Africa, to help Mali take back control of the
northern part of the country. The UN-supported force, AFISMA, was not supposed to go to Mali
until at least 2013.

The international help came earlier than planned because in January 2013, Islamist fighters took
over Konna, an important town in the middle of the country. Worried about the fighters moving
into areas controlled by the government, Mali asked for help from other countries, and the UN
said action needed to be taken quickly. France sent soldiers to Mali to help the Malian forces.
They worked with soldiers from other African countries to fight the Islamist fighters. They used

30
air strikes and ground combat to make the fighters retreat from Konna and other areas. By the
end of January, troops from Mali, France, and AFISMA had recaptured important towns in the
north. They took back Timbuktu and by early February, they had forced Islamist fighters out of
Kidal, which was the last town under their control. Forced out of their bases, Islamist fighters in
the north of Mali started using guerrilla tactics against troops from other countries and the
Malian army. In April, French soldiers started to leave Mali. Then, the UN Security Council
agreed to make a new mission in Mali called MINUSMA, to replace AFISMA. MINUSMA took
over in July 2013. Minusma soldiers helped the French soldiers to keep things safe.

At the same time, the government of Mali and Tuareg rebels agreed to make peace in June 2013.
It said to stop fighting right away and for Malian soldiers to go back to the town of Kidal, which
was taken by Tuareg rebels after the Islamist fighters were kicked out earlier in the year. The
agreement was meant to create a good atmosphere for elections, which were supposed to happen
in the summer.

Even though some people were worried that the country was not prepared for elections, the
voting still happened on July 28, 2013. Over 24 people ran for president. On election day,
everything was calm and a lot of people, over 50 percent, came out to vote. Preliminary results
indicated that no candidate got most of the votes. The top two candidates, former prime minister
Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta and former finance minister Soumaïla Cissé, had to compete in another
election on August 11th. Keïta won the election with almost 78% of the vote, and Cissé accepted
that he had lost. Traoré gave his power to Keïta, who became the new leader on September 4,
2013.

Even though the economy improved a bit, there was still a lot of violence in the northern part of
the country. This violence was caused by fights between Islamist militants and the government
or citizens, or because of fighting among Tuareg rebels. The country was also attacked in a town
called Sevare in central Mali. At least twelve people were killed in the siege of a hotel in August
2015. In November 2015, a hotel in Bamako, Mali was attacked and more than 20 people died.
The government fought with rebellious groups for control of the country's areas. And there were
worrying reports about Malian soldiers doing bad things. There was more fighting between
different ethnic groups.

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2018 presidential election
The country's rising violence and safety issues took away attention from the 2018 presidential
election, which was supposed to happen in July. 24 people ran for the election, including the
current leader Keïta, and his main opponent from 2013, Cissé. On July 29, the election was held,
but more than 600 polling stations (less than 4 percent of all stations) couldn't have voting
because of security problems. Keïta and Cissé got the most votes in the poll. Keïta got over 41%
and Cissé got almost 18%. Because no single candidate received the majority of votes, another
election will be held to decide the winner. Cissé didn't agree with the results of the first round
of voting and went to the country's court to complain. He said that the ballot boxes had been
tampered with and the electoral law was not followed. But the court said the results were right.

The second election took place on August 12, 2018. Security was a problem again. Even though
many soldiers were sent to protect the area, almost 500 voting places couldn't open. Many people
who could vote were scared of violence and didn't go to vote, so not many people turned up to
vote. Keïta won the election with 67 percent of the votes. Cissé said that cheating had happened
and refused to accept the results. Some groups from other countries said they didn't see cheating,
but they did notice some things that were not normal.

2020 and 2021 coups and transitional administration

The country had a lot of violence and safety issues before the 2018 presidential election in July.
24 candidates ran in the election, including the current leader Keïta and his main opponent from
2013, Cissé. When the election happened on July 29, there were security problems that stopped
voting in over 600 polling stations (which is less than 4 percent of all the stations). Keïta and
Cissé got the highest number of votes in the poll. Keïta got more than 41 percent and
Cissé got almost 18 percent. Because no candidate got more than 50 percent of the votes, there
will be another election. Cissé disagreed with the results of the first election. He said that the
ballot boxes were filled with extra votes and the rules were broken. He went to the court to
complain, but the court said the results were okay.

The second election took place on August 12, 2018. Security was a worry again, and even
though lots of soldiers were sent to help keep things safe, nearly 500 voting places couldn't open.

32
Many people who could vote were scared of violence and didn't go, so not many people voted.
Keïta won with 67 percent of the votes. Cissé said that cheating happened and he doesn't accept
the results. Some international groups watching closely said they didn't find proof of cheating,
but they did see some things that weren't normal.

Coups and temporary government control in 2020 and 2021

Security issues continued to be a big problem in Mali during Keïta's second time in office. This
made people even more frustrated with his leadership. A struggling economy and claims of
corruption also made people unhappy. The National Assembly elections, which were delayed
many times because of safety concerns, were finally held in March and April 2020. Highlighting
the dangerous security situation was the kidnapping of Cissé in March while he was running for
the elections. On April 30, the court changed the temporary election results for 30 seats, which
helped Keita’s party win more seats. This caused many protests by a group called the 5 June
Movement Rally of Patriotic Forces (Mouvement du 5 Juinâ Rassemblement des Forces
Patriotiques; M5-RFP, or M5). ECOWAS tried to help fix the problem, but it didn't work.

On August 18, 2020, soldiers went to Bamako and took Keïta, the prime minister, and other
important people into custody. A few hours later, Keïta said he was leaving his job. He also got
rid of the government and National Assembly. The National Committee for the Salvation of the
People took over the government. The takeover in Mali was supported by some people there, but
it was criticized by other countries in the region and around the world.

Talks led by ECOWAS about making a temporary government started soon. In the middle of
September, they said how the temporary government would work. It would have a leader, called
an interim president and prime minister. It would last no longer than 18 months and then there
would be new elections. A group of 121 people from different parts of society will make the
laws. Bah N’Daw, a retired colonel and former defense minister, was chosen to be the temporary
leader, and Col. Assimi Goïta, who leads the CNSP, has been chosen to be the temporary vice
president. Because Goïta played a part in the overthrow and because people wanted a civilian-led
temporary government, his appointment was controversial. The temporary president and vice
president started their jobs on September 25, 2020. NeDaw chose Moctar Ouane, who has a lot
of experience in diplomacy, as the temporary prime minister, and Ouane started working on

33
September 28. In April 2021, the temporary government said there would be a vote to change the
constitution in October. Then, there would be elections in February 2022.

At the same time, people were complaining about how slow the government was making
changes to the constitution, the power that the military still had in the government, and how the
main trade union's salary talks were going. The M5 leaders were very unhappy and they wanted
to get rid of the administration and put a new one in its place. In May 2021, because people were
not happy, N’Daw asked for changes in the government so that Ouane could choose a more
diverse group of people for the cabinet. The new cabinet announced on May 24 showed that two
military officers who had been part of the coup lost their jobs, but other military officers were
given the same jobs instead. However, the military was upset about the changes to the cabinet
and took Ouane and N’Daw into custody on the same day. The next day, Goïta said that N’Daw
and Ouane broke the rules by not talking to him about the cabinet changes. On May 26, Ouane
and N’Daw said they were quitting their jobs even though they were still being held. Goïta then
took over as the temporary president, and the Constitutional Court confirmed that it was legal on
May 28th. The military's actions, which many people think of as another takeover, were
criticized by ECOWAS, the African Union, and others around the world. However, Goïta
promised to stick to the schedule for the elections in February 2022, and officially became the
interim president on June 7. Later on that day, he chose Choguel Maiga, a former minister and
important M5 leader, to be the new temporary prime minister.

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