Douentza (
Fulfulde
Fula ,Laurie Bauer, 2007, ''The Linguistics Student’s Handbook'', Edinburgh also known as Fulani or Fulah (, , ; Adlam: , , ), is a Senegambian language spoken by around 30 million people as a set of various dialects in a continuum that stre ...
: ''Duwayⁿsa''
) is a town and
urban commune in the
Mopti Region of central
Mali
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...
. The town lies 145 km east-northeast of
Mopti
Mopti ( Bambara: ߡߏߕߌ tr. Moti) is a town and an urban commune in the Inner Niger Delta region of Mali. The town is the capital of the Mopti Cercle and the Mopti Region. Situated 630 km northeast of Bamako, the town lies at the conflue ...
on the RN16, a paved road that links Mopti and
Gao
Gao , or Gawgaw/Kawkaw, is a city in Mali and the capital of the Gao Region. The city is located on the River Niger, east-southeast of Timbuktu on the left bank at the junction with the Tilemsi valley.
For much of its history Gao was an impor ...
. It is the administrative center of the
Douentza Cercle
Douentza Cercle is an administrative subdivision of the Mopti Region of Mali. The administrative center (''chef-lieu'') is the town of Douentza.
During the Tuareg rebellion of 2012, it was the southernmost part of the state of Azawad, acco ...
.
The town's old quarter is mostly
Fulfulde
Fula ,Laurie Bauer, 2007, ''The Linguistics Student’s Handbook'', Edinburgh also known as Fulani or Fulah (, , ; Adlam: , , ), is a Senegambian language spoken by around 30 million people as a set of various dialects in a continuum that stre ...
-speaking. Newer sections of the town near the highway are mostly
Bambara-speaking.
[
]
History
Douentza is the leading town in the historic region of Haayre (or Hayre), a Fulbe
The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people ( ff, Fulɓe, ; french: Peul, links=no; ha, Fulani or Hilani; pt, Fula, links=no; wo, Pël; bm, Fulaw) are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. ...
-led kingdom dating to the 19th century. Its name ("Haayre" meaning "rocky place") describes the rocky outcrops which dominate many areas near Douentza, and have provided defense for the locals against raiders and invaders throughout their history. From at least the 17th century CE, villages in the area were fought over by Tuareg and Fulbe groups before the rise of the centralized Fulbe Massina Empire
The Caliphate of Hamdullahi ( ar, خلافة حمد الله; also: Dina of Massina, Sise Jihad state) commonly known as the Massina empire (also spelled ''Maasina'' or ''Macina'') was an early nineteenth-century Fulbe Jihad state centered in the ...
and its later conquest by the Fulbe and Toucouleur led forces of El Hadj Umar Tall
Hadji Oumarûl Foutiyou Tall (Umar ibn Sa'id al-Futi Tal, ar, حاج عمر بن سعيد طعل), ( – 1864 CE), born in Futa Tooro, present day Senegal, was a West African political leader, Islamic scholar, Tijani Sufi and Toucouleur ...
. The French moved into the area in the last decade of the 19th century, in part assimilating the previous political entities as elements of so-called strategy of Indirect rule
Indirect rule was a system of governance used by the British and others to control parts of their colonial empires, particularly in Africa and Asia, which was done through pre-existing indigenous power structures. Indirect rule was used by variou ...
. Douentza remains a largely Fulbe town and region, but populations of Touareg, former Touareg slaves (the "Bella"), Bambara, and other ethnicities live in the local towns and villages. In Douentza town in particular, large portions of Fulbe population come from former "Riimaybe" slave communities.
On 5 April 2012, it was captured by the Tuareg rebels
The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym: ''Imuhaɣ/Imušaɣ/Imašeɣăn/Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group that principally inhabit the Sahara in a vast area stretching from far southwestern Libya to southern Al ...
of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad
The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad or the Azawad National Liberation Movement (Tamasheq: '; ar, الحركة الوطنية لتحرير أزواد ''al-Ḥarakat al-Waṭaniyat Litaḥrīr ʾĀzawād''; french: Mouvement nati ...
(MNLA). Describing the town as the "frontier" of their new nation, the MNLA declared an end to their offensive. The following day, the group officially declared the independence of Azawad
Azawad, or Azawagh (Tuareg: Azawaɣ, or Azawad; ar, أزواد) was a short-lived unrecognised state from 2012 to 2013. Azawagh (''Azawaɣ'') is the generic Tuareg Berber name of all Tuareg Berber areas, especially the northern half of Mal ...
from Mali.
On 1 September 2012, the Islamist group Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa
The Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (abbreviated MOJWA) or the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (abbreviated MUJWA; ar, جماعة التوحيد والجهاد في غرب أفريقيا ''Jamāʿat at-tawḥīd wal-jih ...
took over Douentza, which had previously been held by a Songhai secular militia, the ''Ganda Iso'' ( Songhai for "Sons of the Land"). A MOJWA spokesman said that the group had had an agreement with the Ganda Iso, but had decided to occupy the town when the militia appeared to be acting independently. Once MOJWA troops surrounded the city, the militia reportedly surrendered without a fight and were disarmed.
On 15 January 2013, the Douentza high school was bombed by the French Air Force. This operation
Operation or Operations may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity
* Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory
* ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...
was coupled with other air strikes and ground forces.
Twenty United Nations′ peace keepers were wounded in attacks by rebels on 10 February 2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
.
Transport
The town is served by Douentza Airport
Douentza Airport is an airstrip serving Douentza in Mali.
See also
*Transport in Mali
Mali's transportation infrastructure is regarded as poor, even by regional standards, and deficiencies have limited economic growth and development. Neverthe ...
.
References
{{Communes of the Mopti Region
Communes of Mopti Region