مالي (Mali)، سرڪاري نالو، "ريپبلڪ آف مالي" يا "جمهوريه مالي"، پکيڙ ۾آفريڪا جو اٺون وڏو ملڪ آهي. ان جي پکيڙ 12,40,000 چورس ڪلوميٽر آهي ۽ آبادي سال 2018ع جي تخميني مطابق 1,93,29,841 آھي.[5] ملڪ جو گاديءَ جو هنڌبماڪو آھي. ملڪ جي انتظامي ورھاست اٺ صوبن ۾ ٿيل آهي. خود مختيار رياست جون اتريون سرحدونصحارا رڻپٽ جي وچ تائين پهچن ٿيون. ملڪ جو ڏاکڻو حصو، جتي رهاڪن جي اڪثريت رهي ٿي، سوڊاني سوانا ۾ آهي ۽ ان مان نائيجر ۽ سينيگال نديون وهن ٿيون. ملڪ جي معيشت جو مرڪززراعت ۽ ان جي سڀ کان نمايان قدرتي وسيلن سميت سون (جنهن مان اهو آفريڪا ۾ ٽيون نمبر وڏو پيدا ڪندڙ آهي) ۽ لوڻ جي ڪارڻ، کان کني تي آهي. ملڪ ۾ 13 ٻوليون ڳالهايون وڃن ٿيون، جن مان بامبارا سڀ کان وڌيڪ عام آهي.
مالي ٽن مسلسل طاقتور ۽ دولتمند مغربي آفريڪي سلطنتن جو حصو هو جيڪي ٽرانس-صحارا واپار تي ڪنٽرول ڪندي هيون: گھانا سلطنت (جنهن لاءِگھانا جو نالو رکيو ويو آهي)، مالي سلطنت (جنهن لاءِ مالي نالو رکيو ويو آهي) ۽ سونگھائي سلطنت. سال 1300ع ۾ ان جي دور عروج تي، مالي سلطنت آفريڪا ۾ سڀ کان وڌيڪ دولتمند ملڪ هئي ۽ ان جو 14هين صدي جو شهنشاهه، مانسا موسي کي تاريخ جي امير ترين ماڻهن مان هڪ سمجهيو ويندو هو. واپار ۽ کان کني جو مرڪز هجڻ سان گڏ، وچين دور جو مالياسلام،ثقافت ۽علم جو مرڪز هو،ٽمبڪٽو پنهنجي يونيورسٽي، دنيا جي قديم ترين يونيورسٽين مان هڪ ۽ اڃا به سرگرم، سان گڏ سکيا جو هڪ مشهور مقام بڻجي ويو.
سال 1468ع ۾ وڌندڙ سونگھائي سلطنت، مالي کي سلطنت ۾ جذب ڪري ورتو، ان کانپوءِ مراڪشي فوجون سال 1591ع ۾ سونگھائي کي شڪست ڏنيو. 19هين صدي جي آخر ۾، "اسڪريبل فار آفريڪا" دوران،فرانس مالي تي قبضو ڪري ان کي فرانسيسي سوڊان جو حصو بڻائي ڇڏيو. سوڊاني جمهوريه جي طور تي،سينيگال سان گڏ هڪ مختصر فيڊريشن قائم ڪي وئي، سال 1960ع ۾ آزادي حاصل ڪئي. سينيگال جي واپسي کان پوء، مالي جي جمهوريه قائم ڪئي وئي. هڪ پارٽيءَ جي ڊگهي عرصي جي حڪومت کان پوءِ، سال 1991ع ۾ هڪ بغاوت جي نتيجي ۾ هڪ نئون آئين ۽ مالي کي هڪ جمهوري، گهڻ جماعتي رياست طور قائم ڪيو ويو.
جنوري 2012ع ۾، هڪ هٿياربند تڪرار اتر مالي ۾ ڀڃي، جنهن ۾ تواريگ باغين اتر ۾ هڪ علائقي تي قبضو ڪيو ۽ اپريل ۾ هڪ نئين رياست، "ازاواد" جي علحدگيء جو اعلان ڪيو. تڪرار مارچ، 2012ع ۾ فوجي بغاوت ۽ بعد ۾ تواريگ ۽ ٻين باغي گروپن جي وچ ۾ وڙهندي پيچيده ٿي وئي. علائقائي حاصلات جي جواب ۾، فرانسيسي فوج جنوري 2013ع ۾ "آپريشن سرويل" شروع ڪيو. هڪ مهيني بعد، مالي ۽ فرانس جي فوجون اتر جي اڪثر حصي تي ٻيهر قبضو ڪيو، جيتوڻيڪ تڪرار جاري رهيو. صدارتي چونڊون 28 جولاءِ، 2013ع تي منعقد ڪيون ويون، ٻيو دور 11 آگسٽ تي منعقد ٿيو ۽ قانون ساز چونڊون 24 نومبر ۽ 15 ڊسمبر، 2013ع تي منعقد ڪيون ويون. سال 2020ع جي شروعات ۾، مالي کي اسيمي گوئٽا پاران فوجي قبضي جو تجربو ٿيو.
The extent of theMali Empire's peakThe pages above are fromTimbuktu Manuscripts written in Sudani script (a form ofArabic) from theMali Empire showing established knowledge of astronomy and mathematics. Today there are close to a million of these manuscripts found inTimbuktu alone.
The rock art in theSahara suggests that northern Mali has been inhabited since 10,000 BC, when the Sahara was fertile and rich in wildlife. Early ceramics have been discovered at the central Malian site of Ounjougou dating to about 9,400 BC, and are believed to represent an instance of the independent invention of pottery in the region.[6] Farming took place by 5000 BC and iron was used by around 500 BC.In the first millennium BC, early cities and towns were created by Mande peoples related to theSoninke people, along the middle Niger River in central Mali, includingDia which began from around 900 BC, and reached its peak around 600 BC,[7] andDjenne-Djenno, which lasted from around 300 BC to 900 AD. By the sixth century AD, the lucrative trans-Saharan trade in gold, salt and slaves had begun, facilitating the rise of West Africa's great empires.
There are a few references to Mali in early Islamic literature. Among these are references to "Pene" and "Malal" in the work ofal-Bakri in 1068,[8] the story of the conversion of an early ruler, known toIbn Khaldun (by 1397) as Barmandana,[9] and a few geographical details in the work ofal-Idrisi.[10]
Mali was once part of three famed West African empires which controlledtrans-Saharan trade in gold, salt, other precious commodities, andslaves majorly during the reign ofMansa Musa from c. 1312 – c. 1337.[11] TheseSahelian kingdoms had neither rigid geopolitical boundaries nor rigid ethnic identities.[11] The earliest of these empires was theGhana Empire, which was dominated by theSoninke, aMande-speaking people.[11] The empire expanded throughout West Africa from the eighth century until 1078, when it was conquered by theAlmoravids.[12]
TheMali Empire later formed on the upperNiger River, and reached the height of power in the 14th century.[12] Under the Mali Empire, the ancient cities ofDjenné andTimbuktu were centers of both trade and Islamic learning.[12] The empire later declined as a result of internal intrigue, ultimately being supplanted by theSonghai Empire.[12] The Songhai had long been a major power in West Africa subject to the Mali Empire's rule.[12]
In the late 14th century, the Songhai gradually gained independence from the Mali Empire and expanded, ultimately subsuming the entire eastern portion of the Mali Empire.[12] The Songhai Empire's eventual collapse was largely the result of theMoroccan invasion of 1591 under the command ofJudar Pasha.[12] The fall of the Songhai Empire marked the end of the region's role as a trading crossroads.[12] Following theestablishment of sea routes by the European powers, the trans-Saharan trade routes lost significance.[12] At that time, the Mali Empire's abundance in wealth expanded its commercial assets ofsalt andgold.
One of the worstfamines in the region's recorded history occurred in the 18th century. According toJohn Iliffe, "The worst crises were in the 1680s, when famine extended from the Senegambian coast to the Upper Nile and 'many sold themselves for slaves, only to get a sustenance', and especially in 1738–1756, when West Africa's greatest recorded subsistence crisis, due to drought and locusts, reportedly killed half the population ofTimbuktu."[13]
Cotton being processed inNiono into180kg (400lb) bales for export to other parts of Africa and to France, c. 1950
Mali fell under the control of France during theScramble for Africa in the late 19th century.[12] By 1905, most of the area was under firm French control as a part ofFrench Sudan.[12]
In November 1915, a largeanti-French uprising broke out among the tribes in the regions of present-day Mali and Burkina Faso.[14] The last resistance was suppressed only in September 1916. During the suppression of the uprising, over 100 villages were destroyed by French colonial troops.[15]
On 24 November 1958, French Sudan (which changed its name to the Sudanese Republic) became an autonomous republic within theFrench Community.[16] In January 1959, Mali andSenegal united to become theMali Federation.[16]
The Mali Federation gained independence from France on 20 June 1960.[12] Senegal withdrew from the federation in August 1960, which allowed the Sudanese Republic to become the independent Republic of Mali on 22 September 1960, and that date is now the country'sIndependence Day.[17]
Modibo Keïta was elected the first president.[12] He quickly established a one-party state, adopted an independent African and socialist orientation with close ties to the East, and implemented extensive nationalization of economic resources.[12] In 1960, the population of Mali was reported to be about 4.1million.[18] On 19 November 1968, following progressive economic decline, the Keïta regime was overthrown in a bloodless military coup led byMoussa Traoré,[19] a day which is now commemorated asLiberation Day.[20]
The subsequent military-led regime, with Traoré as president, attempted to reform the economy. His efforts were frustrated by political turmoil and a devastatingdrought from 1968 to 1974,[19] in which famine killed thousands of people.[21] The Traoré regime faced student unrest beginning in the late 1970s and three coup attempts. The Traoré regime repressed all dissenters until the late 1980s.[19]
WWI Commemorative Monument to the "Armée Noire"
Opposition to the corrupt and dictatorial regime of General Moussa Traoré grew during the 1980s. During this time strict programs, imposed to satisfy demands of the International Monetary Fund, brought increased hardship upon the country's population, while elites close to the government supposedly lived in growing wealth. The government continued to attempt economic reforms, and the populace became increasingly dissatisfied.[19] In response to growing demands for multi-party democracy, the Traoré regime allowed some limited political liberalization in the late 1980s, but refused to usher in a full-fledged democratic system.[19]
In 1990, cohesive opposition movements began to emerge, and was complicated by the turbulent rise of ethnic violence in the north following the return of manyTuaregs who had migrated toAlgeria andLibya during the drought.[19] Peaceful student protests in January 1991 were brutally suppressed, with mass arrests and torture of leaders and participants.[22] Scattered acts of rioting and vandalism of public buildings followed, but most actions by the dissidents remained nonviolent.[22]
From 22 March through 26 March 1991, mass pro-democracy rallies and a nationwide strike was held in both urban and rural communities, which became known asles évenements ("the events") or the March Revolution. In Bamako, in response to mass demonstrations organized by university students and later joined by trade unionists and others, soldiers opened fire indiscriminately on the nonviolent demonstrators. Riots broke out briefly following the shootings. Barricades as well as roadblocks were erected and Traoré declared a state of emergency and imposed a nightly curfew. Despite an estimated loss of 300 lives over the course of four days, nonviolent protesters continued to return to Bamako each day demanding the resignation of the dictatorial president and the implementation of democratic policies.[23]
26 March 1991 is the day that marks the clash between military soldiers and peaceful demonstrating students which climaxed in the massacre of dozens under the orders of Traoré. He and three associates were later tried and convicted and received the death sentence for their part in the decision-making of that day. Nowadays, the day is a national holiday in order to remember the tragic events and the people who were killed.[24][25] The coup is remembered as Mali'sMarch Revolution of 1991.[26]
By 26 March, the growing refusal of soldiers to fire into the largely nonviolent protesting crowds turned into a full-scale tumult, and resulted in thousands of soldiers putting down their arms and joining the pro-democracy movement. That afternoon, Lieutenant ColonelAmadou Toumani Touré announced on the radio that he had arrested the dictatorial president, Moussa Traoré.
Opposition parties were legalized, a transitional government was formed and a national congress of civil and political groups met to draft anew democratic constitution to be approved by a national referendum.[23][19] In 1992,Alpha Oumar Konaré won Mali's first democratic, multi-party presidential election, before being re-elected for a second term in 1997, which was the last allowed under the constitution.Amadou Toumani Touré, a retired general who had been the leader of the military aspect of the 1991 democratic uprising, was elected in 2002.[27] During this democratic period Mali was regarded as one of the most politically and socially stable countries in Africa.[28]
Slavery persists in Mali today with as many as 200,000 people held in direct servitude to a master.[29] In theTuareg Rebellion of 2012, ex-slaves were a vulnerable population with reports of some slaves being recaptured by their former masters.[30]
On 11 January 2013, theFrench Armed Forcesintervened at the request of the interim government of presidentDioncounda Traoré. On 30 January, the coordinated advance of the French and Malian troops claimed to have retaken the last remaining Islamist stronghold of Kidal, which was also the last of three northern provincial capitals.[37] On 2 February, French presidentFrançois Hollande joined Dioncounda Traoré in a public appearance in recently recaptured Timbuktu.[38]
Map showing the fullest extent of rebel-held territory in January 2013
In the central Mali province ofMopti, conflict has escalated since 2015 between agricultural communities like theDogon and theBambara, and thepastoralFula (or Fulani) people.[40][41] Historically, the two sides have fought over access to land and water, factors which have been exacerbated byclimate change as the Fula move into new areas.[42] The Dogon and the Bambara communities have formed "self-defense groups"[41] to fight the Fula. They accuse the Fula of working with armedIslamists linked toal-Qaeda.[41] While some Fula have joined Islamist groups,Human Rights Watch reports that the links have been "exaggerated and instrumentalized by different actors for opportunistic ends".[41]
Added a top Mali military commander:
I’ve discussed the growing violence with my commanders and with village chiefs from all sides. Yes, sure, there are jihadists in this zone, but the real problem is banditry, animal theft, score settling – people are enriching themselves using the fight against terrorists as a cover.[41]
The conflict has seen the creation and growth of Dogon and Bambara militias. The government of Mali is suspected of supporting some of these groups under the guise of being proxies in the war against Islamists in theNorthern Mali conflict.[43] The government denies this.[43] One such militia is the Dogon groupDan Na Ambassagou, created in 2016.[41]
Modibo Sidibe voting in Bamako, 2018 Malian presidential election
In September 2018, theCentre for Humanitarian Dialogue negotiated a unilateral ceasefire with Dan Na Ambassagou "in the context of the conflict which opposes the group to other community armed groups in central Mali".[47] However, the group has been blamed for the24 March 2019 massacre of 160 Fula villagers.[48] The group denied the attack, but afterwards Malian president Keita ordered the group to disband.[49] The UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide,Adama Dieng, warned of a growingethnicization of the conflict.[50] By 2020, more than 600,000 people had beendisplaced by the conflict in Mali.[51] The United Nations reported that the number of children killed in the conflict in the first six months of 2019 was twice as many for the entire year of 2018. Many of the children have been killed in intercommunal attacks attributed to ethnic militias, with the majority of attacks occurring aroundMopti. It is reported that around 900 schools have closed down and that armed militias are recruiting children.[52]
During the first week of October 2019, two jihadist attacks in the towns of Boulikessi andMondoro killed more than 25 Mali soldiers near the border withBurkina Faso.[53] President Keïta declared that "no military coup will prevail in Mali", continuing by saying that he does not think it "is on the agenda at all and cannot worry us".[54] On 1 November 2019, theIS-GS militants killed at least 50 soldiers in the2019 Indelimane attack in theMénaka Region of Mali.[55] In February 2020, Human Rights Watch documented atrocities against civilians in Central Mali and said that at least 456 civilians were killed, while hundreds were injured from January 2019 until November.[56]
Popular unrest began on 5 June 2020 following irregularities in the March and April parliamentary elections, including outrage against the kidnapping of opposition leaderSoumaïla Cissé.[57][58] Between 11 and 23 deaths followed protests that took place from 10 to 13 June.[59] In July, President Keïta dissolved the constitutional court.
Members of the military led by ColonelAssimi Goïta and Colonel-MajorIsmaël Wagué inKati,Koulikoro Region, began a mutiny on 18 August 2020.[59] President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta and Prime MinisterBoubou Cissé were arrested, and shortly after midnight Keïta announced his resignation, saying he did not want to see any bloodshed.[59] Wagué announced the formation of theNational Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP) and promised elections in the future. A curfew was begun and the streets of Bamako were quiet.[59] TheEconomic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) condemned the coup and demanded that Keïta be reinstated as president.[60]
On 12 September 2020, the CNSP agreed to an 18-month political transition to civilian rule. Shortly after,Bah N'daw was named interim president by a group of 17 electors, with Goïta being appointed vice president. The government was inaugurated on 25 September 2020. On 18 January 2021, the transitional government announced that the CNSP had been disbanded, almost four months after had been promised under the initial agreement.[61]
Tensions between the civilian transitional government and the military ran high after the handover of power in September 2020. The tensions came to a head on 24 May 2021 after a cabinet reshuffle, where two leaders of the 2020 military coup –Sadio Camara andModibo Kone – were replaced by N'daw's administration.[62] Later that day, journalists reported that three key civilian leaders – President N'daw, Prime MinisterMoctar Ouane and Defence MinisterSouleymane Doucouré, were being detained in a military base inKati, outside Bamako.[63] On 7 June 2021, Mali's military commander Assimi Goïta was sworn into office as the new interim president.[64]
Military situation in Mali. For a detailed map, seehere.
In 2022 and 2023, theIslamic State in the Greater Sahara saw major gains in theMali War, occupying large swathes of territory in southeastern Mali.Ansongo andTidermène were also captured by the group.[65] By mid-2023, the militant group had doubled the amount of territory it controlled since the overthrow of the previous government and establishment of the junta.[66]
On 10 January 2022, Mali announced the closure of its borders and recalled several ambassadors to ECOWAS countries in response to sanctions placed on Mali for deferring elections for four years.[67] On 4 February, France's ambassador was expelled.[68] According toHuman Rights Watch, Malian troops and suspected Russian mercenaries from theWagner Group executed around 300 civilian men in central Mali in March 2022. France had started withdrawing French troops from Mali in February 2022, commencing the end ofOperation Barkhane.[69] On 2 May, the military government announced breaking its defence accords concluded in 2013 with France, constituting an additional step in the deterioration of Malian–French relations.[70] This latest announcement has been criticized by French authorities and considered as "illegitimate".[71] A UN panel reported that in the first three months of 2022, 543 civilians were killed and 269 wounded, warning the 2015 peace agreement between the government and pro-independence groups was threatened by a potential risk of confrontation for the first time in five years. The report also noted a sharp increase in the number of people needing humanitarian assistance over the previous year.[72]
Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, visited Bamako on 7 February 2023 and said that Moscow would continue to help Mali improve its military capabilities.[73]
In June 2023, Mali removed French, the language of its former colonizer, as an official language with the approval of a new constitution by 97% of voters ina referendum conducted by the junta.[74]
On 7 September 2023, al-Qaeda linkedJNIM militantsattacked a vessel on theNiger River, killing at least 154 civilians.[75]
In July 2024,CSP-DPA rebels and JNIM militants killed dozens of Russian mercenaries and Malian government forces during theBattle of Tinzaouaten.[76] On 5 August 2024 the Republic of Mali announced that it was severing diplomatic relations withUkraine.[77][78]
On 17 September 2024, al-Qaeda linked JNIM militantsattacked several locations acrossBamako, killing at least 77 people and injuring 255 others.[79]
↑Eric Huysecom, M. Rasse, L. Lespez, K. Neumann, A. Fahmy, A. Ballouche, S. Ozainne, M. Maggetti, Ch. Tribolo, S. Sorian: The emergence of pottery in Africa during the tenth millennium cal BC: new evidence from Ounjougou (Mali), in: Antiquity (2009), p. 906.
↑al-Bakri in Nehemiah Levtzion and J. F. Pl Hopkins, eds and trans.,Corpus of Early Arabic Sources for West African History (New York and London: Cambridge University Press, 1981, reprint edn Princeton, New Jersey,: Marcus Wiener, 2000), pp. 82–83.
↑ibn Khaldun in Levtzion and Hopkins, eds, and transl.Corpus, p. 333.
↑al-Idrisi in Levtzion and Hopkins, eds. and transl,Corpus, p. 108.
1234567891011121314Mali country profile. Mali was later responsible for the collapse of Islamic Slave Army from the North. The defeat of Tukuror Slave Army, was repeated by Mali against the France and Spanish Expeditionary Army in the 1800s ("Blanc et memoires"). p. 2.
12Nesbitt, Katherine,"Mali's March Revolution (1991)", International Center on Nonviolent Conflict,اصل کان 16 June 2011 تي آرڪائيو ٿيل, حاصل ڪيل 1 March 2012۔
↑Bussa, Edward (26 March 2009),"Mali's March to Democracy",Threadster.com,اصل کان 24 March 2012 تي آرڪائيو ٿيل, حاصل ڪيل 1 March 2012۔
↑Mohsin, Haroon (18 آگسٽ 2022),"Martyr's Day in Mali",National Today (ٻولي ۾ en-US),اصل کان 17 October 2023 تي آرڪائيو ٿيل, حاصل ڪيل 16 سيپٽمبر 2023۔
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