The Malian Situation

Mali is a landlocked country in West Africa, divided into ten Régions (pronounced in French as RAY-jeeon. The country is flat and hilly, with only a few isolated mountains. The majority of the population lives in the lush, fertile southern Régions to which the Niger River gives life (see map below). However rainfall is not easy to comeby in the region, being eight to twenty inches/twenty to fifty centimeters in a lucky year. [1] In the middle of the country, is a belt of a transitory area, dry but grassy, known as the Sahel, that goes through much of Africa. However, they are lucky to have rain at all, unlike their fellow Malians up north. The Sahara Desert cuts through there, where a significant number of the inhabitants are lighter-skinned Tuaregs (pronounced and sometime spelled “Twaregs”, and spelled in French as “Touregs”), or as they refer to themselves, Kel Tamasheq (people who speak Tamasheq) a nomadic herder people who are more closely related to Arab and Amazigh peoples rather than the sedentary, agriculture-based Black Africans who compose the vast majority of Malians. As of 2021, the Malian population was around twenty million. [2] The main ethnic groups as a percent of the population are Mandes at fifty percent (Mande subgroups are the Bambara, Malinke, Sarakole), Fulanis/Peuls at seventeen percent, Voltics/Voltiques at twelve percent, Moors and Tuaregs at ten percent, Songhais at six percent, with the remaining five percent belonging to other groups. [3] Almost all Malians are Sunni Muslims, however, in the southern Régions, many practice a religious syncretism combining Sunni Islam with traditional Black African spiritual traditions such as animism and ancestor worship, drinking beer is common, and most women forgo face coverings. This is much to the displeasure of Islamists and Tuareg nationalists, the latter who view this as proof of their supposed racial and religious superiority over Black Malians. Most Malian adults are farmers, however, other industries such as mining exist. The capital and largest city with a population of nearly two million is Bamako. The most spoken language since colonization by France has been French, however, the Mande language of Bambara is also a common language of business used by varying ethnic groups, but only the Bambara people speak it natively. Mali’s motto in French is, “Un peuple, un but, une foi”, or in English, “One people, one goal, one faith”.

Around 500, an empire known as Ghana emerged. Named for the title taken by their monarchs [4], they quickly rose to dominate what is now Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Mali with their enormous army and influence. Arab exploeres, traders, and Muslim missionaires stood in awe of the wealth they had acquired from gold mining, a resource which was in so much abundance it was used for construction. Ghana declined in the thirteenth century due to regional nobles neglecting their loyalty to their liege, the Ghana, in favor of their own personal interests, which led to decentralization, instability, and ultimately, collapse. It was by this time that most of West Africa had converted Sunni Islam due to the efforts of Muslim missionaires. The nobility converted first, who would then support the efforts of missionaries to convert their subjects, who were primarily craftspeople, farmers, and fisherpeople. This order at first might seem confusing at first, as Islam has often presented itself as standing up for the poor masses against the rich. However, the West African nobility, like nobility in the rest of the world at the time, had more leisure time and money than their subjects, which they could use to learn a foreign language, Arabic, and use their newfound fluency in that language to read the Koran and Hadiths, the sacred texts of Islam. The Muslim missionaires, who spoke Arabic, would speak to the nobles first in Arabic, and then learn the local languages from the nobles to preach to their subjects. [5]

The encounter with Arabic was also important, because it introduced the concept of written language to West Africa. Before then, history would be remembered and passed down by an oral historian known as a griot (the t is silent), also known as a jeli and other names in various languages. However, griots continue to play an important role in West African culture and historiography even after the introduction of written language.

Around 1230, a man named Sundiata (also spelled Sunjata) Kéïta, who could barely walk due to a severe physical disability, overcame the odds, defeating his eleven brothers and rival nobles, and established another empire to replace Ghana. It was called Mali, “the place where the king lives”, a name with powerful connotations, and the monarch of Mali was called the Mansa. Sundiata died in 1255, but his creation would live on to become even greater than Ghana. Having been founded in 1230, this makes Mali one of the oldest continuous countries in Africa and the world. The Mali Empire expanded west all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. They brought upon the land a golden age in a literal sense: like Ghana, they grew enormously rich from gold mining, and used their money to sponsor the arts and education. The cities Djenné (the d is silent), Gao, and Timbuktu [6] became shining stars of culture and wealth, marveled at by foreign visitors. The most famous Mansa of Mali, Mansa Kankan Musa (reigned 1312–37) went on a Hajj (pilgrimage) to Makkah in Arabia from 1324–25. He was carried on a golden throne through the Sahara Desert with an army of hundreds of soldiers and enslaved workers, who like him, were draped in gold. He spent so much gold in Cairo that the value of gold there was inflated for decades. He was worth an estimated four-hundred billion in modern US dollars, making him the richest person to ever live [7]. His Hajj made his empire famous far and wide, word traveling all the way to Europe, but no European had seen it for themself, yet. [8][9]

Mali would eventually crumble and decline starting in the fifteenth century due to corrupt leadership and squandering of their gold reserves. It gave way to another empire, Songhai, founded in 1469 by Sunni Ali. Its most famous leader was Askia Muhammad Touré, also known as Askia Muhammad I or Askia Muhammad the Great, who ruled from 1493–1528. However, Songhai was felled in the late sixteenth century by Morrocan armies. The West African soldiers, although heroic warriors, were gunned down in battle by Morrocan musketeers, who had less bravery and skill, but better technology. [10]

Ghana, Mali, and Songhai were all multiethnic and linguistically diverse empires, and showed it was possible for African states to exist across ethnic lines for centuries without sectarian conflict.

In 1640 Bamako was founded along the Niger River, meaning alligator (bama) river (ko) in Bambara, and the city is today Mali’s capital and largest city, as mentioned in the introductory paragraph. [11]

Over the next few centuries, what was once Mali went into decline. Famine and poverty gripped the land, and the once great cities became irrelevant, with little contact with the outside world. Desertification, the spread of the sands of the Sahara onto once fertile savannas, made life dryer, sandier, and harder. Meanwhile, European imperialism began to grip more of the world. Europeans knew little of Malian and West African history, and what they did know was second-hand accounts from Arab sources. The inhabitants of Timbuktu, considering their city to be a sacred bastion of Islam, and did not allow Christian nor European visitors (perhaps though, they would have made an exception for European Muslims, but this is merely the author’s speculation, and such a dilemma likely never occurred). The first European visitor was a Scotsman named Alexander Gordan Laing in 1826, but he disappeared before he could return to tell the tale. A Frenchman named Rene Caillie, who pretended to be Muslim, became the first non-Muslim White European to venture to Timbuktu and return home safely. The Timbuktu he found was a shadow of its former glory, having been in decline for centuries. Many Europeans followed his lead, and it was during this period that Timbuktu entered the English lexicon as an example of a far-away or mysterious place. [12] Thus the English maxim “all the way to Timbuktu” to describe a long journey.

At the end of the nineteenth century, Mali would transform into a new era, but one of only more suffering and misery, as the Berlin Conference allocated their land to the French Republic. In 1893, the French imperialists had defeated the last of the great empires based in Mali, the Segu Tukulor (or in French, l’Empire Toucouleur), which had only been founded forty-five years earlier in 1848. [13] The French imperialists marched onwards to Timbuktu in 1894 and Gao in 1898. By 1899, the French imperialists had solidified their control over Mali, which they disparagingly named Soudan Français, or French Sudan, taking from a medieval Arabic name for the Sahel, bilād as-sūdān (بلاد السودان), or land of the blacks (sic). The British imperialists also named one of their African colonies Sudan, which is now the modern-day countries of Sudan and South Sudan. With the French imperialists confident in their hold over Soudan Français, they integrated it into Afrique-Occidentale Françiase, or French West Africa, which was the grouping of all their West African colonies that were managed from a centralized, undemocratic government in Saint Louis (moved to Dakar in 1902), Senegal, whose (White) Governor was chosen by Ministry of the Colonies (known today euphemistically as the Ministry of the Overseas), which was based in Paris.

The primary interest of French imperialism-colonialism in Soudan Français was cotton and rice, which grew abundantly on the Niger River. Just as they did in their other colonies, the French imperialists forced their colonial subjects to work growing cotton and harvesting other valuable resources under the guise of a corvée, or a labor tax, since France abolished slavery in 1848. The Malian experience with imperialism and colonialism was not unique, as like all the other colonies, they saw themselves exploited for labor and raw materials, and so little to no improvement in quality in life over the course of roughly eighty years of French rule. Some Malian men were conscripted to fight for France in both World Wars. [14]

“The economy was overwhelmingly agricultural. According to a 1956 study by the Bureau International du Travail, the French Soudan had only 3% wage-earners, compared to 93% in Great Britain, 65–70% in France, 40% in Japan and 5% in Africa as a whole. [Source: Le Syndicalist Libre, nø3, (22 September 1956).] As of 20 Juin 1960, the date that Mali became independent, 95% of the population was involved in agriculture. [Source: Alain Maharaux, L’Industrie au Mali, (Paris: L’Harmattan et CNRS, 1986), 13–14.]

There were only 36 industrial units in 34 locations in Mali. This was a legacy of French policy that treated the Soudan as a supplier of raw materials and a market for French industrial output. There were 9 rice processing plants, 7 electrical generating stations, 6 bottling companies (4 in Bamako), four bakeries (all in Bamako), 2 vegetable-oil processing plant, 1 cotton processing plant, only 3 metal fabricating sites, 1 ship construction, 1 brick manufacturing, 1 candy factory, 1 consumer chemical plant (soap and perfumes).

The Soudan depended on financial subsidies from France and the rail connection to Dakar. The Soudan possessed only extractive and light consumer industries. Imports provided all heavy construction material, automobiles, and fuel oil. All financing for major development projects came from France (like the Niger River bridge at Bamako, under construction since 1947 and finished in 1961.” [15]

As in the rest of West Africa, resistance grew in Mali to imperialism after World War II. Bamako became a hotbed of left-wing radicalism, led by the Communist Study Groups. In 1946, after being released from jail for criticizing imperialism, an art and theater teacher from Bamako named Modibo Kéïta (1915–1977), along with his friend Ouezzin Coulibaly, founded the Union of French West African Teachers, and le Bloc soudanais, the latter which was a Marxist-Leninist party that would later be renamed la Union soudanaise (US). It became the Sudanese affiliate of a coalition founded the same year, the African Democratic Rally (Rassemblement Démocratique Africain-RDA), an anti-imperialist united front in French colonies in Africa. The Sudanese faction, which would become known as the US-RDA, was more radical than many of their counterparts in other colonies, being communist and recognizing the French imperialists did not have African interests at heart. Because of the growing power of popular anti-imperialist movements, French concessions to their colonies meant they had more autonomy, including their own elected legislatures and the right to elect Deputies to the National Assembly in Paris, one of those West African Deputies being Modibo Kéïta, elected in 1956. Monsieur Kéïta was also elected to be general councilor of Soudan Français in 1948, and Mayor of Bamako in 1956. The US-RDA, on a communist and anti-imperialist program, won the 1957 election to the Territorial Assembly with 62.14% of the vote and 57/70 seats, and the 1959 Legislative Assembly 75.84% of the vote and 80/80 seats. However, these elections had low turnout, 33.9% and 32.2%, respectively, with the number of people having voted well below a million, likely as the Sudanese felt their votes did not count, as the French imperialists were still their masters in the end, as the Assembly had limited power. But years of struggle meant change was just on the horizon. [15][16][17][18]

In 1960, when France grudgingly granted independence to all of her African colonies except for Algeria and Djibouti, Soudan and Senegal gained independence on June 30th together as the Mali Federation, and was admitted to the United Nations eight days later. The capital was in Bamako, and the Constituent Assembly elected Modibo Kéïta as President of the Federation. However, Senegal did not feel the arrangement was advantageous for them, feeling they as a rich coastal region would have to pay to develop a poorer internal region, Soudan, while being politically dominated by a more populated Soudan, which was also where the capital and President was based. The Federation was dissolved on August 20th, with Senegal becoming independent. On September 22nd, Soudan redeclared independence, as the Republic of Mali. The name change was highly symbolic, as they were doing away with a humiliating colonial name, Soudan, for the dignified name that their direct ancestors made great conquests and achievements under, Mali. They sought to restore the glory of their medieval past, but as a democratic republic with freedom and equality instead of a feudal monarchy with slavery. It was then that Mali was reborn, with Modibo Kéïta at the helm as President. [15][17] Source [17] implies Modibo Kéïta was descended from the first Mansa of the Mali Empire, Sundiata Kéïta, fitting ancestry for the first President of the Republic of Mali.

The policy agenda of Modibo Kéïta as the first President of Mali was wide-reaching. In foreign policy, he found an ally in the USSR, both sharing a common goal of communism. However, in order to demonstrate that he was non-aligned and not Soviet-controlled, he flew to Washington DC, in the company of fellow non-aligned President Sukarno of Indonesia, and found a friend in President John Fitzgerald Kenndy (JFK) of the United States. [15][17] According to Farida Dawkins of Face2Face Africa:

“As a Pan-Africanist, he developed the Union of the States of Western Africa with former Ghanaian president Kwame Nkrumah and Sèkou Tourè, the former president of Guinea. He was also an instrumental figure in forming the Organization of African Unity.

He played a part in ending the Sand War of 1963. He negotiated the Bamako Accords which included Ethiopia and ended the conflict. From 1963 to 1966, Keita realigned relations with Cote d’Ivoire, Upper Volta (renamed Burkina Faso in 1984) and Senegal.” [17]

For his contributions to international diplomacy, he was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize by the USSR in 1962 [19], and the honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George by Queen Elizbeth II [17].

While he managed to find the admiration of many on the international stage, he was not so lucky at home. The Tuareg nationalists of the Saharan north, wanting a Tuareg ethnostate instead of being part of a mostly Black African Republic, staged a revolt in 1962–64, which was defeated by the Malian Armed Forces. In spite of this, the National Assembly reelected Président Kéïta for another term in May 1964, and a month later, the US-RDA won all eighty seats in the National Assembly in the 1964 elections due to a list-based winner-take-all system many African countries used in the early years of their independence. Unlike the colonial elections, this one had an impressive 88.9% turnout, showing increased public confidence in their government. [18]

However, the new political system was not without problems. Many political institutions were inherited unchanged from French colonial rule, which was highly centralized and undemocratic. At the local level, village and municipal councils were elected by universal suffrage, but their power was limited by the local executive branches, the chiefs and mayors, the former who were appointed by the central government at the nomination of the village council, and the latter elected indirectly by the municipal council. Important local issues, such as finance, had to be approved by the Council of Ministers, and “nine critical matters” had to be approved by the Ministry of the Interior. At the regional level, there was no democracy at all, as the governors were appointed by the central government, and the financial councils were also unelected. There were plans to turn them into elected Regional Assemblies, but these were never able to be implemented as a result of an event that happened in November 1968 that will be discussed shortly. As for the National Assembly itself, they were “insulated from popular control. Its members were chosen on a single list prepared by the monopoly party (US-RDA) and named to represent the country at large.” This is unlike most other socialist countries, whose legislators are elected by a specific constituency as opposed to the whole country. The judicial system also remained mostly unchanged from French colonial institutions. [20]

In the economic sphere, the Kéïta administration enacted socialist policies of partial agricultural collectivization agriculture, nationalization of most industries, and keeping any French or other foreign business and investment under a tight leash to avoid the development of neocolonial relations. Prices were fixed on rational grounds, rent freezes and fixings, and most importantly, the adoption of the Malian franc instead of the West African franc, the latter which was (and still is) controlled by the Bank of France. This last move was to ensure Mali had control over its own currency instead of their former colonizer. However, economic difficulties forced Mali to use the West African Franc instead, as none of their neighbors had made a similar move, undermining the value of the Malian franc. Some of the causes of economic issues included the lack of rainfall on the Niger River, the political system lacking local voices as mentioned in the previous paragraph, therefore undermining economic planning, and the lack of Malian experts in various fields, who were taking years to return from their training in the USSR. The French imperialists had previously made it difficult for Malians to be educated at the university level. In the USSR, the Malian students encountered a language barrier, as most Soviet citizens did not speak French, and their instructors who did spoke it poorly. [20]

In the social sphere, Président Kéïta was a Muslism, and saw his Marxism-Leninism and devotion to Islam compatible, as he pointed out both have great concern for the poor. However, his government still sought to secularize institutions, restricting (but not banning) polygymay, recognizing only civil marriages, and banning forced marriages. [20]

Other notable acts of his Presidency include a campaign against illiteracy that involved working towards universal education, which was praised by UNESCO, reforming the legal code to provide equality between men and women, the purchase of Soviet civilian planes to create a Malian national airline, the expulsion of French soldiers and bases from Mali, and a show of solidarity with Viet Nam against US imperialism. [21]

In 1967, the sessions of the National Assembly were suspended and the politburo of the US-RDA was abolished. Président Kéïta ruled with the aid of a new group named the Committee for the Defense of the Revolution. These moves proved to be fatal. On November 19th, 1968, bourgeois, right-wing, reactionary elements within the Army formed the Military Committee of National Liberation, and led by General Moussa Traoré, overthrew Président Kéïta and seized control of the Republic. They claimed they were acting in response to the suspension of sessions of the National Assembly, under the cry of “restore the elections”, yet they would do no such thing. Moussa Traoré declared himself President of the Republic the next year. His long dictatorship had begun. [15][17][19][20][22]

The drought that began in 1968 did not end with the restoration of capitalism that happened that same year. Rather, it only worsened to a point a famine in 1973 where thousands died. While the government was not directly responsible for the famine, as it was a result of the weather, they made no policy changes afterwards to prevent future famines from happening, like in 2005, and Mali still struggles with hunger to this day. [23]

The Traoré dictatorship threw Mali back into the orbit of French imperialism as a neo-colony. His regime did not implement any notable policies to improve the lives of Malians, and the country remained poor and exploited. Opponents of his were imprisoned or killed. [24][25]

In 1974, a new constitution was adopted by referendum, marking the beginning of the Second Republic of Mali. Two years later, Traoré founded a political party, the Democratic Union of the Malian People, or la Union Démocratique du Peuple Malien (UDPM). Like most other parties in Africa set up to support neo-colonial dictatorships, the UDPM was completely astroturfed, had no coherent ideology, its only purpose being to mobilize support and provide legitimacy for the dictator, and was the only legal political party. In 1979, elections were held for the Presidency and National Assembly, with Moussa Traoré and the UDPM candidates being the only options, and they all won unanimously as a result, and all other elections under Troaré/UDPM rule would follow this practice. In spite of the election being blatantly rigged, it was still important symbolically, as it completed Troaré’s transformation from a military to civilian dictator that began five years earlier with the new constitution. [18][25]

Modibo Kéïta died in prison on May 16th, 1977, under suspicious circumstances, as an autopsy was not authorized. His funeral was suppressed by the Traoré-UDPM dictatorship, who felt the people rallying around the communist revolutionary and first President of the Republic, could serve as a political rallying cry against him. [15][17][19][22]

In 1983, to Troaré’s south, in Upper Volta, a problem for him and his cronies emerged: in the Popular and Democratic Revolution, communist revolutionaries led by Capitaine Thomas Isidore Noël Sankara seized power and established a proletarian dictatorship. A year later, they renamed the country to Burkina Faso. Revolutionary Burkina Faso was a threat to capitalism in Mali right on its doorstep, showing to the Malian people the benefits of socialism. Mali had since independence had a territorial dispute with Burkina Faso over the Agacher Strip in Mali’s arid eastern Régions. Burkina Faso argued for it being theirs on the basis of uti possidetis juris (Latin for “as you possess under law”), as the French imperialists, when drawing borders for the colonies of Afrique-Occidentale Françiase, allocated the area to Upper Volta, and Burkina Faso inherited those colonial borders. Mali argued for it being theirs on the basis of a Fula and Tuareg presence there, and that there was something distinctly Malian about these peoples (there is not, the Fulas and Tuaregs are pastoralists and are spread out across many countries in West Africa). [26][27][28]

In December 1985, the Republic of Mali was outraged at Burkinabè (è is pronounced as “eh”) census takers arriving in Fula camps in the disputed Agacher Strip. They saw this as an act of war and invaded Burkina Faso on Christmas Day. The Malian Armed Forces utilized their superior firepower (including 150 tanks) and numbers to push into le Faso, and the Malian Air Force used MiG 21 jet fighters to terror bomb the towns of Djibo (the D is silent) and Ouahigouya (pronounced “wah-ee-gooya”), murdering many civilians, hoping to loosen Burkinabè resolve. However, under the command of Capitaine Blaise Compaoré, the Armed Forces of Burkina Faso dispersed and stalled the Malian advance with guerilla tactics. After five days of fighting and hundreds of casualties, a ceasefire was agreed to on December 30th. Almost a year later on December 22nd, 1986, the dispute was permanently resolved when the International Court of Justice, an arm of the United Nations, split the Agacher Strip in half, and both countries accepted the resolution. [26][27][28]

Président Traoré likely had mixed feelings about the outcome of the Agacher Strip War. On one hand, he was likely pleased he managed to avoid a Burkinabè-incited proletarian revolution in Mali against his neo-colonial dictatorship. Rather, he effectively used the war to distract Malians from poverty and social injustice. However, he probably also felt disappointed that he failed in using the war to start a counter-revolution in Burkina Faso to restore capitalism, in cooperation with other West African neo-colonial dictators. However, this very event happened anyway in October 1987, so it did not take a war to bring down Thomas Sankara’s Presidency. Note that this analysis on what Troaré might have thought is based purely on speculation.

Likely due to his alliance with France, a NATO member, and having fought a war against a communist country, Traoré found himself a friend in the strongly anti-communist President Ronald Regean of the United States. President Regean invited him to a state dinner at the White House on October 6th, 1988, where the two capitalist Presidents praised the other through a English-French translator. [29]

Due to a combination of centuries of decline, French imperial looting, and decades of mismanagement by the Traoré-UDPM dictatorship, in the 1990 Human Development Report, ranking countries by quality of life, Mali ranked as the second least developed country in the world, with a Human Development Index of 0.143, beset only by their neighbor Niger (0.116), out of 130 countries. [30]

During the 1980s, the Traoré-UDPM régime turned towards the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for loans in exchange for neoliberal structural adjustment programs. This only further strengthened Mali’s status as a neo-colony of France and did nothing for Malian workers. For Malians, this was the final straw, and in March 1991, the country stood up in revolt in what would be called the March Revolution. The US-RDA had climbed out of decades of hiding to stand with the proletariat in this decisive moment, and many new socialists and communists emerged in this revolution as well. The Traoré-UDPM régime ordered the massacre of over two hundred protesters in fear of people power. But it was not enough, and he was removed from power on March 26th by the Armed Forces and imprisoned, and the UDPM disappeared from the political scene with him. In 1993, a court found Moussa Traoré guilty of the murder of 103 protesters and sentenced him to death. One of his successors, Président Alpha Oumar Konare, commuted his sentence to life in prison until pardoning him in 2002 in the name of national unity. Moussa Traoré used his freedom to act as a political mediator, until he died of natural causes in September 2020 at the age of 83, and a state funeral was held. [24][25][31]

Amadou Toumani Touré served as acting president for a year until an election could be organized in 1992. On January 12th 1992, a constitutional referendum was held, with a new constitution on the ballot guaranteeing basic human rights, a multiparty system, and a semi-presidential system where the President is directly elected in a two-round system to five year terms with a two term limit. In order to limit the power of the President, he appoints a Prime Minister to form the government, and the elected National Assembly and judiciary serves as a check on the executive’s power. The constitution was approved nearly unanimously, with over ninety-eight percent of votes being in favor, and remains in place today. In the Spring elections, left and center-left parties who were instrumental in overthrowing the Traoré-UDPM dictatorship formed a coalition, which became a party in 1991, called the Alliance for Democracy in Mali — Pan-African Party for Liberty, Solidarity and Justice (Alliance pour la Démocratie au Mali — Parti Pan-Africain pour la Liberté, la Solidarité et la Justice, ADEMA-PASJ). The National Assembly is elected by a system of runoff voting. The first round was held on February 23rd, the second on March 8th. The ADEMA-PASJ won 76/116 seats, the National Congress for Democracy Initiative won nine, the US-RDA won eight, and the remaining fifteen seats were picked up by seven other parties. Only 1,017,019 Malians voted in the legislative election, making voter turnout an abysmal 21.3 percent. As for the presidential elections, the first round was on April 12th, the candidate of the ADEMA-PASJ, Alpha Oumar Konaré won 44.95 percent of votes, a candidate of the US-RDA, Tiéoulé Mamadou Konaté won 14.51 percent of votes, and the remaining 40.54 percent was picked up by seven other candidates, including an additional candidate from the US-RDA. In the second round, held on April 26th, Alpha Oumar Konaré (ADEMA-PASJ) won 69.01 percent of the vote, 693,176 votes, and Tiéoulé Mamadou Konaté (US-RDA) won 30.99 percent of the vote, 311,289 votes. In the second round, voter turnout was a depressing 20.9 percent. Alpha Oumar Konaré was sworn in as President on June 8th, making him the first directly elected President of Mali. He was easily reelected on May 11th 1997, as all but one of his opponents boycotted the elections, and turnout was only 28.4 percent, and as a result, he won with 95.9 percent of the vote, with no need for a second round. Legislative elections held the same year in April were annulled by the Constitutional Court due to irregularities, and had to be done over on July 30th and August 3rd, and while the ADEMA won the elections, winning 128/147 seats, most opposition parties, including the US-RDA, boycotted them, and turnout was only 21.5 percent. The 1992 and 1997 general elections have set an undemocratic precedent in Malian politics, and of the four national elections held after 1997, not a single has seen a majority of registered voters participate, even without the existence of organized boycotts. [18]

As President, Alpha Oumar Konaré faced an immediate crisis in the northern Régions, as in 1990, the Tuareg nationalists took advantage of the crumbling Traoré-UDPM dictatorship, and staged another revolt, and continued after the March Revolution. Président Konaré was able to get most of them to stand down in 1995, in exchange for granting autonomy to the heavily Tuareg, northeastern Kidal Région. [31][32]

In the 2002 general elections, Malian voters demonstrated they had largely lost interest in the ADEMA. They only won 45/147 National Assembly seats. A new-comer social democratic party, the Rally for Mali (Rassemblement pour le Mali-RPM) won forty-six seats, a new Marxist-Leninist party that had taken the place of the US-RDA, known as African Solidarity for Democracy and Independence (Solidarité Africain pour la Démocratie et l’Indépendance-SADI) won six seats, and other parties won the remaining fifty seats. In Presidential elections that same year, the ADEMA candidate, Soumaïla Cissé, received 333,525 votes (21.31%) in the first round, and 498,503 votes (34.99%) in the second round. The winner on the other hand, was the aforementioned Amadou Toumani Touré, an independent who campaigned on his record serving as acting president from 1991–92, overseeing Mali’s transition from dictatorship to bourgeois democracy, and also his status as a political outsider. He received 449,176 votes (28.71%) in the first round, and 926,242 (65.01%) in the second. He was reelected in 2007 with 1,617,912 votes (71.20%) in the first round. [18]

Alpha Oumar Konaré handing over the Presidency to Amadou Toumani Touré in 2002 was significant, as it was the first and only time in Malian history when one elected President lawfully and peacefully handed over power to another elected President, and was more significant in that one defeated the other’s party. Président Touré faced a renewed Tuareg insurgency from 2006 until another peace with Algerian mediation was brokered in 2009. [30]

That same year, Président Touré vetoed a women’s rights bill approved by National Assembly, which sought to revive some of the feminist initiatives of the socialist Presidency of Modibo Kéïta. According to the British Broadcasting Corporation:

“Some of the provisions that have proved controversial give more rights to women. For example, under the new law women are no longer required to obey their husbands, instead husbands and wives owe each other loyalty and protection. Women get greater inheritance rights, and the minimum age for girls to marry in most circumstances is raised to 18. One of the other key points Muslims have objected to is the fact that marriage is defined as a secular institution. Tens of thousands have turned out at protests in Bamako in recent weeks and there have been other demonstrations against the law across the country. It is a political defeat for President Toure (sic), who was a strong backer of the new law.” [33]

On the matter, Président Touré remarked: “I have taken this decision… to ensure calm and a peaceful society, and to obtain the support and understanding of our fellow citizens.” It was the Islamists, who saw the bill as an attack on traditional religious family values, who organized the protests against it and put the pressure on the President to veto it. Women’s groups were dismayed at the news, and how Malian women were denied what could have been a great victory. [33]

In the 2010 Human Development Report, Mali had a Human Development Index of 0.309, putting them in 160th place out of 169 countries. [34]

In January 2012, among the Tuaregs, both legitimate feelings of underrepresentation and simple racism against Black Malians led to another rebellion. But like many events around the world in the 2010s, this one would prove to be unprecedented in its impact. The Tuaregs, as we know, are nomads, and cross Saharan countries frequently. Many Tuareg rebels had returned from Libya, where they fought for the defeated Jamahiriya in the Civil War there a year earlier, bringing with them experience and Libyan arms, making them far deadlier than before. They formed the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (Mouvement National de Libération de l’Azawad-MNLA), giving them a level of organization they did not have under previous insurgencies. The MNLA declared the independence of “Azawad” from Mali, and its claimed territory included the northern Régions of Gao, Ménaka, Kidal, Taoudénit, and Tombouctou (Timbuktu), whose hypothetical borders would have put a significant number of Black Malians under the jurisdiction of a Tuareg state that would likely discriminate and systematically oppress or ignore them. Support for the MNLA and Tuareg nationalism among Tuaregs is far from unanimous, and some of them are content with being Malian citizens. [32][35]

The Mali War had begun. [36] In March, the Malian Armed Forces (Forces Armées Maliennes-FAMa) felt Président Touré, who only had a few months left before his second and last term ended, was not fit to fight the insurgency, and overthrow him and set up a junta that would govern until general elections were held in 2013. In response, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) temporarily suspended Mali’s membership and imposed sanctions. In April 2012, the junta handed power over to the Speaker of the National Assembly Dioncounda Traoré (ADEMA-PASJ), and ECOWAS lifted sanctions and restored Mali’s membership in response. [32]

Meanwhile, in March and April, the MNLA had captured the cities of Gao (the capital of “Azawad”), Kidal, and Timbuktu (all the capital of the Régions named for them). Old school Tuareg nationalism however, was giving way to a newer, sleeker ideology, Sunni Islamism. They formed new armed organizations, such as but not limited to Anṣār ad-Deen (“Defenders of the Faith”, أنصار الدين, also spelled Anṣār ad-Dīn and Ansar Dine), pledging their loyalty to al-Qaida and their regional branch, al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb. In return for their loyalty, al-Qaida gladly sent to help in Mali their seasoned fighters from around the world. The Islamist insurgents had less interests in an independent “Azawad”, and more in setting up an Islamic theocracy that controlled all of Mali and the broader region of West Africa and the Maghreb. Because of this, while the MNLA had captured all of their claimed territory, the Islamist insurgents continued to push south by October. In November, the ECOWAS began arranging an expeditionary force to help Mali. However it was not enough, and by January 2013, the Islamist insugents had captured the town of Konna, and with the FAMa losing morale and organization, they announced they were preparing to march onto Bamako. [32]

What just a year ago seemed to be a ragtag group of insurgents that would be dealt with soon enough, was now about to take control of a country that then had a population of fifteen million people. With the situation looking dire, interim president Dioncounda Traoré of Mali requested foreign assistance, and it arrived. Then-President François Hollande of France sent 2500 troops, the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, Belgium, and Denmark sent technical, material, and logistical support, and as for Mali’s ECOWAS allies, Benin sent 300 troops, Burkina Faso, Niger, Senegal, and Togo, 500 from each, and Nigeria, 600. [31][36] For perspective, the FAMa numbered around 6000–7000 soldiers during this same time, [38] there were about 1200 Islamist insurgents on the frontlines, [39] Anṣār ad-Dīn had approximatly 300 militants, and the MNLA had about 2000–3000. [40] The multinational support came so quickly because the rapid advance of the al-Qaida-affiliated Islamist insurgents caused Mali’s neighbors and former colonizer to realize that the situation now had broad regional consequences, and was no longer a Malian problem. It was especially worrisome for French imperialism, which seeks to preserve stability to maintain their control over their neo-colony. Now backed with thousands of foreign reinforcements, especially the French Armed Forces and their state of the art equipment

(far superior to the cheap, old, mostly Soviet arms of the FAMa and the insurgents), the FAMa and their allies were able to completely turn the tide, retaking Timbuktu, Gao, and Kidal in a matter of weeks, and driving the insurgents back into the isolation of the Sahara Desert. Their rapid advance was also helped by the relative flatness of the land. It was a decisive defeat for the MNLA and Islamist insurgents, as the great progress they fought and died over for a year was taken from them in weeks. The MNLA agreed to a peace deal in June 2013, leaving al-Qaida as the main threat. Some Malians saw France’s help as paying a blood debt for the Malians who died fighting for France in the World Wars, but others saw their colonizers reasserting their influence. [32][41]

In spite of a painful string of defeats, the Islamist insurgents continue to fight on against the FAMa and their allies, using guerilla warfare. The frontlines have barely changed since they were initially beaten back in January 2013.

In areas controlled by the MNLA and the Islamists, slavery, including sexual slavery, is permitted, as some Tuaregs believe Black people must serve them as slaves, as to them, that is simply the way the world is meant to work; their ancestors centuries ago would go on raids into Black villages for captives. Despite their use of the word “liberation”, the MNLA is a racist, reactionary secessionist movement, and no leftist nor believer in freedom should support them. The Islamists also enforce their interpretation of Sharia Law, cutting off the hands of drug users and thieves, executing LGBT people, and lashing women who don’t wear a hijab, all carried out publicly. They also looted buildings they considered haram, including churches, restaurants that served alcohol, cyber cafes, and banks. [42][43]

By April 2013, more European Union countries had sent trainers to help retrain and rebuild the FAMa to prevent the earlier situation from happening again, including 207 French (these are only the French there to train Malian soldiers, not the total number of French soldiers in Mali, which was and still is in the thousands) 71 Germans, 54 Spaniards, 40 Brits, 34 Czechs, 25 Belgians, and 20 Poles. [44]

In August 2013, former Prime Minister Ibrahim Boubacar Kéïta of the social-democratic RPM was elected President in the second round, defeating his opponent, former Minister Soumaïla Cissé, who had split in 2003 from the ADEMA-PASJ to form his own liberal party, l’Union pour la République et la Démocratie (URD) which he ran under in the 2007, 2013, and 2018 Presidential elections. [45] Ibrahim Boubacar Kéïta, after winning, was sworn in as President the same year. He is generally referred to by his initials, IBK, in French i-bé-ka, pronounced “ee-bay-kah”. IBK was the fifth President of Mali, discounting transitional presidents.

In November 2015, the Radisson Blu Hotel in Bamako, a five-star upscale location preferred by tourists and international visitors, was, according to their Twitter account, attacked by al-Mourabitoun (the Sentinels, المرابطون‎), an al-Qaida affiliate. They took 170 guests hostage. After a seven-hour siege, the hotel was retaken by the FAMa, aided by French and US special forces. Twenty-seven hostages and two extremists were killed in the siege. Président IBK postponed a trip to Chad to visit the Radisson Blu Hotel, condemning the attack and demanding justice for those responsible. The Muslim citizens of Bamako protested the attack as unrepresentative of Islam. [46]

In the aforementioned Marxist-Leninist SADI, in an October 2017 interview with maliJet, their President, Dr. Oumar Mariko, spoke of their recent history. In the 2013 Presidential election, they endorsed IBK in the second round after he failed in the first round. He argued that “…la Sadi avait un choix entre deux maux… (…the SADI had a choice between two evils…)”, and chose IBK, because his party, the social democratic RPM, said they would bring about change and also stabilize northern Mali. By the time of the 2017 interview, when it was clear they would do no such thing, Dr. Mariko said his party would not endorse IBK again. On the French occupation, he said that it should be Malian soldiers who defend national territorial integrity against the rebels, instead of having French soldiers on the “terre de nos ancêtres (land of our ancestors).” He went on that the SADI would, while remembering the martyrs of the March Revolution, continue to work to democratize education, and fight against corruption, and that they were open to Malians to join and support, concluding that “les Maliens souffrent de par leur propre faute (the Malians suffer from their own fault)”, and that SADI is the solution. [47] Dr. Oumar Mariko, born on February 4th, 1959 in the waning days of Soudan Français, started off as a medical student, and got involved in politics fighting against the Troaré-UDPM dictatorship, and has dedicated his life since as an activist. He also spent time in the 1990s involved with radio and as a spokesman for the victims of the Troaré-UDPM dictatorship. As a member of the National Assembly, he has spoken out passionately against capitalism and French imperialism. He has run in every first round Presidential election since 2002. [48][49]

In 2018, Président IBK ran for reelection, and in the second round would face Soumaïla Cissé, the latter who was running for the third time since 2002, and the second time as the candidate of the liberal URD. IBK won with 1,798,632 (67.17%) votes, and Soumaïla Cissé received 879,235 (32.83%) votes. Spoiled ballots numbered 85,536. Due to many Malians being refugees of the Mali War, some territory being controlled by insurgents who do not recognize the Republic of Mali and thus its elections, and more crucially, lack of faith in the two candidates and bourgeois democracy (both candidates were capitalists, IBK a social democrat, and Cissé a liberal), voter turnout was only 34.54 percent. [50]

In Spring 2020, legislative elections were held for the National Assembly. This was the first time since the Traoré-UDPM dictatorship that a legislative election was separate from a Presidential one, breaking with the precedent that was set in 1992 of always having Presidential and legislative elections be simultaneous, and was a sign of greater political instability. The National Assembly elections were delayed two years because of many electoral constituencies being controlled by insurgents. It was the first time since 2013 Malians would vote for their National Assembly. In a delay that was supposed to help turnout, it happened to be held in the year of the Coronavirus Pandemic, depressing it even further, in addition to an intimidation campaign by al-Qaida to punish people for participating in the politics of a secular republic, and the usual disinterest in a corrupt political system. [51]

On May 25th, 2020, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, America, a Black man named George Floyd was murdered by a White policeman named Derek Chauvin for allegedly using a counterfeit $20 bill. His murder by asphixiation for eight minutes, in broad daylight, set off a wave of righteous anger and protests across America, with the people demanding an end to racism, police brutality, and corrupt government. Yet quickly, these protests became international. Most of the world had spent the last two or three months in quarantine, fearing Coronavirus in dreary isolation, and in countries with right-leaning or right-wing governments, dealing with the effects of a neglectful response. This movement gave the workers of the world hope. The Coronavirus Pandemic had only accelerated the pre-existing inequalities and injustices of capitalism, and this international protest movement was the revolutionary backlash after the world spent months in hiding.

The workers of Mali were especially fed up. Many felt the French Armed Forces had overstayed their visit, as virtually no progress has been made against the rebels since the initial push in early 2013. More Malians continued to be sucked into the insurgency; those who were misguided enough to join it, the innocents who were murdered by it, or the FAMa soldiers who gave their lives fighting it. Malians knew the war was not going in the right direction. IBK and the RPM were corrupt and had failed to deliver on their promise of change. Social democracy had failed. Although the RPM lost seats, the Spring legislative elections were generally viewed as rigged so as to keep the RPM from suffering greater losses, and the election was also viewed as unrepresentative and undemocratic due to low turnout. Starting in June 2020, massive protests, backed by the ADEMA-PASJ, SADI, other leftist parties and organizations, the URD, along with some Islamist elements, filled the streets of Bamko, under the front of the June 5th Movement: Rally of Patriotic Forces, and a vuvuzela, a long plastic horn, becoming a popular symbol of protest. Undefeated by the government’s tear gas and water cannons, and the calls from ECOWAS for the protests to cease, the people had made it clear: IBK needed to go. On the night of August 18th, after months of popular demonstrations, IBK finally resigned under pressure from progressive elements of the FAMa, marking the forth coup d’état in Malian history. They formed a military junta called the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (La Comité national pour le salut du peuple-CNSP). While Malians celebrated and paraded the putschists through Bamako, imperialism retaliated. President Emannuel Macron of France and ECOWAS called for IBK to be returned to power. The Pentagon briefly suspended US cooperation with the FAMa. [52][53][54][55][56]

In September, likely to calm imperialist fears of a radical government, the CNSP elected Bah N’Daou (also spelled N’Daw) to the post of interim president. He is a retired military officer and former Minister of Defense and Veteran Affairs for IBK. He cooperated with French imperialism as Minister. [57]

These efforts seem to have worked, as the initial imperial alarm over Mali has relaxed since, and sadly, the “business as usual” of capitalism-imperialism has returned. Mali has a long tradition of military coups. The June 5th Movement relied on the good will of the FAMa to stand up for the people and do the right thing, only for them to capitulate to imperialism. They should have taken matters into their own hands, and made overthrowing the corrupt, neo-colonial government the people’s business instead of the FAMa’s.

On January 5th, 2021, a French drone strike murdered twenty civilians attending a wedding, according to a health worker with knowledge of the event, who requested to remain anonymous. The French Army denied the claims, claiming all targets were rebels. What happened is yet to be confirmed, due to the remoteness of where the drone strike occurred. By this time, in spite of clear Malian discontent with French imperialism, the French presence in Mali had increased to over 5100 soldiers and personnel, twice of the original 2013 deployment of around 2500. [58]

The rebels have failed to win because of the international onslaught against them, and because they have failed in convincing enough of the population that their cause is worth them getting in trouble sheltering them and helping them over. The Republic of Mali and their allies have failed to win for similar reasons: they have not developed nor given enough concern to the Régions that it would undermine the small appeal the rebels have, that is small enough for them to keep recruiting and fighting. A stalemate persists.

On January 26th, the CNSP dissolved itself, handing over the transition to civilians. General elections are scheduled for August 2022. [59] In May 2021, the FAMa took back power from civilian authorities. [60]

Although it was imperfect, Socialist Mali under the Presidency of Modibo Kéïta, was far more stable and heading in a better direction than the capitalist, neo-colonial, sectarian Mali of today.

Malians have endured great suffering in the last four centuries especially since 2012, but they are a people who know how to assemble and stand up to tyranny in the names of socialism and anti-imperialism, and remain steadfast in their mission of reviving their golden age, and of “un peuple, un but, une foi”.

Citations and Notes

1. Casser, et al, p 369
2. https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/population-by-country/
3. https://www.infoplease.com/world/social-statistics/ethnicity-and-race-countries
4. No cultural nor territorial relationship with the modern-day Republic of Ghana
5. Casser, et al, 378–81
6. Once spelled in English as Timbuctoo, and currently in French as Tombouctou, in Tuareg/Tamasheq as Tin Buqt and Koyra-Chiini/Western Songhai as Tumbutu
7. CELEBRITY NET WORTH. (n.d.). Mansa Musa Net Worth. https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-politicians/royals/mansa-musa-net-worth/
8. Casser, et al, p 378–81
9. SAHO. Published April 6th, 2016, last updated, August 27th, 2019. The Empire of Mali (1230–1600). South African History Online-toward a people’s history. https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/empire-mali-1230-1600
10. Casser, et al, p 380–81
11. City of Rochester, New York. (n.d.). Bamako, Mali — Sister City Since 1975. https://www.cityofrochester.gov/article.aspx?id=8589950583#:~:text=Bamako%2C%20the%20capital%20of%20the,%2C%22%20meaning%20alligator%20and%20river.
12. Geoghegan, Tom. (April 12th, 2012). Who, What, Why: Why do we know Timbuktu? British Broadcasting Corporation. https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-17583772
13. Sürtenich, Ralf. (2005, September 11th). The Toucouleur Empire. Afrique l’Ouest. https://web.archive.org/web/20050911213052/http://www.suertenich.com/html/afriq/empire.html
14. UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA — AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER. (n.d.). French in West Africa. https://www.africa.upenn.edu/K-12/French_16178.html
15. The Big Read : Modibo Kéïta: A devoted pan-africanist. September 5th, 2005. http://africa.gm/africa/gambia/article/2008/9/5/the-big-read-modibo-keita-a-devoted-pan-africanist
16. Presidency of the Republic of South Africa. (n.d.). Modibo Keita (1915–1977) THE ORDER OF THE CHAMPIONS OF OR TAMBO IN GOLD (POSTHUMOUS). https://web.archive.org/web/20081219102807/http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/orders/042006/part5.pdf
17. Dawkins, Farida. (2018, May 16). Mali’s first president, Modibo Keita, died a prisoner on this day in 1977. Face2Face Africa. https://face2faceafrica.com/article/malis-first-president-modibo-keita-died-a-prisoner-on-this-day-in-1977
18. AFRICAN ELECTIONS DATABASE. (n.d.). Elections in Mali. https://africanelections.tripod.com/ml.html
19. SAHO. Published November 14th, 2012, last updated, September 30th, 2019. President Modibo Keita of Mali is deposed by the army. South African History Online-toward a people’s history. https://www.sahistory.org.za/dated-event/president-modibo-keita-mali-deposed-army
20. Hazard, John. N. (1969, October). Marxian Socialism in Africa: The Case of Mali. Comparative Politics, Volume 2(Issue 1), 1–15.
21. Producer, Ouane, Moussa, Director, Traoré, Sidi Becaye. (2015). Modibo KÉÏTA: un Homme, un Destin [YouTube]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_UOigbQe4g Timestamps: around 8:00, 10:00, 16:00, 27:00
22. Houpert, Pierre. (2016, November 19th). Ce jour-là : le 19 novembre 1968, un coup d’État renverse le président malien Modibo Keïta. Jeune Afrique. https://www.jeuneafrique.com/375154/politique/jour-19-novembre-1968-coup-detat-renverse-president-malien-modibo-keita/
23. Loyn, David (2005, August 9th). Mali’s nomads face famine. British Broadcasting Corporation. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4132326.stm
24. Ahmed, Baba (2020, September 15th). Mali’s former president Moussa Traore dies at 83. Associated Press. https://apnews.com/article/ibrahim-boubacar-keita-elections-africa-west-africa-mali-5de4f5fd34f4d29073bcadd393ee07a7
25. Roger, Benjamin. (2016, March 25th). Mali : retour sur le régime de Moussa Traoré en dix dates. Jeune Afrique. https://www.jeuneafrique.com/312846/politique/mali-retour-regime-de-moussa-traore-dix-dates/
26. Roger, Benjamin. (2015, December 25th). Il y a trente ans éclatait la « guerre de Noël » entre le Mali et le Burkina Faso. Jeune Afrique. https://www.jeuneafrique.com/288381/politique/il-y-a-quarante-ans-eclatait-la-guerre-de-noel-entre-le-mali-et-le-burkina/
27. International Court of Justice. (1999, December 7th). Frontier Dispute (Burkina Faso/Republic of Mali). https://web.archive.org/web/19991207105119/http://www.icj-cij.org/icjwww/igeneralinformation/ibbook/Bbook8-1.51.htm
28. International Court settles West African land dispute. (1986, December 24th). Chicago Sun Times. https://web.archive.org/web/20150328142006/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-3802162.html
29. Reagan Library, (2018, May 11th) President Reagan’s State Dinner Toasts for President Moussa Traore of Mali on October 6, 1988 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jVVchbQKsU&list=LL&index=4
30. ul Haq, Mahbub, et al. (1990). Human Development Report 1990. United Nations Development Programme. Page 111
31. Reuters Staff. (2020, September 15th). Moussa Traore, who led Mali’s first military coup, dies at 83. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mali-politics-traore/moussa-traore-who-led-malis-first-military-coup-dies-at-83-idUSKBN26630H
32. Al Jazeera. (2013, August 13). Timeline: Mali since independence. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2013/8/13/timeline-mali-since-independence
33. Vogl, Martin. (2009, August 27th). Mali women’s rights bill blocked. British Broadcasting Corporation. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8223736.stm
34. Klugman, Jeni, et al. (2010). Human Development Report 2010: The Real Wealth of Nations: Pathways to Human Development. United Nations Development Programme. Page 145
35. Dörrie, Peter. (2012, May 9th). The Origins and Consequences of Tuareg Nationalism. WORLD POLITICS REVIEW. https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/11922/the-origins-and-consequences-of-tuareg-nationalism
36. The Mali War is named in the same tradition as the Vietnam War, in that both are named in English and French for the country where it is taking place. As the Mali War is ongoing as of the time is writing, present tense is used here. Both wars also started off as domestic insurgencies that later involved multinational foreign intervention, and both conflicts are seemingly endless and unwinnable, especially from the perspective of the counter-insurgents. Both wars are also the largest in scale and human misery to have taken place in their respective countries.
37. The Associated Press. (2013, January 15th). A look at what countries are contributing to Mali. The Seattle Times. https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/a-look-at-what-countries-are-contributing-to-mali/
38. Laurence, N. (2012, October 31st). Europe’s Response to Mali Threat. The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-RTBB-3437
39. Al Jazeera. (2013, January 11th). France launches Mali military intervention. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2013/1/11/france-launches-mali-military-intervention
40. Bourdebala, S., & Raterl, P. (2012, April 2nd). Al-Qaeda unlikely to profit from Mali rebellion: experts. The Daily Star Lebanon. http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/International/2012/Apr-02/168928-al-qaeda-unlikely-to-profit-from-mali-rebellion-experts.ashx#axzz1quEeCoBI
41. Geiser, Kelsey. (2013, February 27th). Stanford scholars view the Mali conflict with a historical eye. Stanford University. https://news.stanford.edu/news/2013/february/mali-conflict-history-022713.html
42. York, Geoffrey. (2012, November 11th). Mali chaos gives rise to slavery, persecution. The Globe and Mail. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/mali-chaos-gives-rise-to-slavery-persecution/article5186368/
43. Voice of America News, (July 26th, 2012), A Look Inside Northern Mali, [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bX8q7Z51USA
44. British Broadcasting Corporation. (2013, April 2nd). Mali crisis: EU troops begin training mission. https://web.archive.org/web/20130402191030/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21998398
45. Al-Jazeera. (2013, August 13th). Keita wins Mali election after rival concedes. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2013/8/13/keita-wins-mali-election-after-rival-concedes
46. Diarra, Soumaila., & Stanglin, Doug. (2015, November 20th). Up to 27 dead in Mali hotel siege; one American slain. USA TODAY. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/11/20/reports-gunmen-attack-hotel-mali/76093598/
47. Doumbia, Siaka. (2017, October 21st). Oumar Mariko sur Africable télévision : “Les Maliens souffrent de par leur propre faute”. maliJet. http://malijet.com/actualite-politique-au-mali/196760-oumar-mariko-sur-africable-t%C3%A9l%C3%A9vision-%E2%80%9Cles-maliens-souffrent-de-.html
48. BamaNet. (2007, April 19th). Oumar Mariko. https://web.archive.org/web/20071030064753/http://www.bamanet.net/actualite/Special-Elections-2007/Les-candidats/OUMAR-MARIKO/3030.html
49. Sangare, Alpha S. (2018, May 31st). Présidentielle de 2018 : Le Parti SADI investit Oumar Mariko, candidat du changement. mailweb.net-virtuellement au mali. https://www.maliweb.net/politique/presidentielle-de-2018-le-parti-sadi-investit-oumar-mariko-candidat-du-changement-2759920.html
50. Ministère de l’Administration Territoriale et de la Décentralisation de la République du Mali. (2018, August 26th). 2ème TOUR DE L’ELECTION PRESIDENTIELLE, RESULTATS PROVISOIRES COMPLETS. https://web.archive.org/web/20180817055852/http://www.matcl.gov.ml/sites/default/files/public/resultats%20election%20pr%C3%A9sident%20rep%202eme%20tour%20sign%C3%A9.pdf
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52. Ahmed, Baba. (2020, June 5th). Thousands in Mali’s capital demand that president step down. abc NEWS. https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/thousands-malis-capital-demand-president-step-71093627
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55. British Broadcasting Corporation. (2020, August 21st). Mali’s coup is cheered at home but upsets neighbours. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-53848223
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Other Sources

• Al Jazeera. (2013, August 13). Timeline: Mali since independence. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2013/8/13/timeline-mali-since-independence
• Virginia Department of Education. (n.d.). MALI: ANCIENT CROSSROADS OF AFRICA, HISTORY. https://www.doe.virginia.gov/instruction/history/mali/history/index.shtml