Kidal Region ( Bambara: ߞߌߘߊߟ ߘߌߣߋߖߊ tr. Kidal Dineja) the eighth administrative region of

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 ...

, covering . This area was formerly part of

Gao Region The Gao Region ( Bambara: ߜߊߏ ߘߌߣߋߖߊ tr. Gao Dineja) is a region in northeastern Mali. The capital city is Gao. Geography The region is bordered to the north by Kidal Region, to the west by Tombouctou Region and Taoudénit Region, ...

, but was created as a separate region in 1991. It is located in the north of the country, within the territory which 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 ...

proclaimed to be the independent nation-state 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 Mali ...

on 6 April 2012. This independence has not been recognized by any country or international organization. It was under the control of different armed movements such as the

Ansar Dine Ansar Dine ( ar, أنصار الدين ''ʾAnṣār ad-Dīn'', also transliterated ''Ançar Deen''; meaning " helpers of the religion" (Islam) also known as Ansar al-Din (abbreviated as AAD) was a Salafi jihadist group led by Iyad Ag Ghaly. Ans ...

and MNLA until January 2013, when French forces liberated the region. The Region's administrative capital is the town of

Kidal Kidal ( Tuareg Berber: ⴾⴸⵍ, KDL, Kidal) is a town and commune in the desert region of northern Mali. The town lies northeast of Gao and is the capital of the Kidal Cercle and the Kidal Region. The commune has an area of about and incl ...

Geography

The region is bordered on the west by Tomboctou Region, to the south by

, to the east by

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesAlgeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

. Kidal has a desert climate with day-time temperatures that reach as high as 45 °C (113 °F). In 2009 the region had a population of 67,638. In addition 30% of its population, mostly

Tuareg 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 A ...

and Songhai were displaced to North Africa during the 1990s. The largest towns of the region are Kidal,

Tessalit Tessalit is a rural commune and village in the Kidal Region of Mali. The village is the administrative centre of Tessalit Cercle (district). The village lies north of Adjelhoc and about from the Algerian border. The ''commune'' extends o ...

, and Aguel'hoc.

Transportation and economy

The primary trades of Kidal Region include livestock breeding, craft-making, and commerce. Commercial farming has been developed in some areas. The region is extremely isolated, with no paved highways or rivers for transportation.

History

The region saw Tuareg Rebellions in 1963–1964 and in 1990–1991. The accords of Tamanresset followed on January 6, 1991, creating the Kidal Region by decree on August 8, 1991. By the end of 2011, another group of

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 ...

, the

, were active in the region. The Movement declared Azawad to be an independent republic in April 2012, with the Kidal region as part of the new (but unrecognised) state.

Culture

The region is peopled primarily by Tuaregs, a nomadic ethnicity of Berber origin. Their writing is the

Tifinagh Tifinagh ( Tuareg Berber language: or , ) is a script used to write the Berber languages. Tifinagh is descended from the ancient Libyco-Berber alphabet. The traditional Tifinagh, sometimes called Tuareg Tifinagh, is still favored by the Tuare ...

alphabet. Though

nomad A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...

ism remains the lifestyle best adapted to the difficult environment of the region, several settlements have emerged at Kidal: Aguel'hoc,

, and

Tinzawatène Tinzaouaten (var. Tinzawatene and Tin-Zaouatene, Arabic: تين ظواتين) is a Saharan rural commune in the far northeast of Mali on the Algerian border. The commune is in the Abeïbara Cercle of the Kidal Region. It included a stop on a tran ...

Administrative subdivisions

Kidal Region is divided into four ''cercles'' encompassing 11 ''communes'':.

References

* This article is based on a translation of the corresponding article from the French Wikipedia, retrieved on July 8, 2005.

External links

Kidal info (French)
* . {{authority control Regions of Mali Tuareg