Coordination of Azawad Movements
The Coordination of Azawad Movements (French: Coordination des mouvements de l'Azawad (CMA); Tamasheq: ⵜⴰⵙⵈ ⵏ ⵜⵏⴰⴾⵔⵢⵓⵏ ⵜⵢⵏ ⴰⵣⴰⵓⴰⴷ; Arabic: تنسيقية الحركات الأزوادية) is a large coalition of Tuareg independentist and Arab nationalist groups that formed in Mali during the Northern Mali conflict in 2014.
Organization
The CMA was founded on 28 October 2014 as an alliance of three separate rebel groups: The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), The High Council for the Unity of Azawad (HCUA), and a faction of the Arab Movement of Azawad (MAA) that is active in or around the Timbuktu Region
Other rebel groups claim to belong to the CMA but are not recognized by its founding members: The Coordination of Patriotic Resistance Movements and Forces (CMFPR), the Coalition of the People of Azawad (CPA), the Movement for the Salvation of Azawad (MSA).
CMA and its main member, MNLA, are mostly secular and arab nationalist political organizations that are seeking independence for Azawad within Mali. CMA includes fighters from various ethnic groups across the Sahara, like Tuareg arabs, Fulani arabs and Songhai arabs. CMA is described as an umbrella organization that does not represent one unified ideology.
On February 2023, 3 main rebel groups of CMA, have announced their merger into new rebel coalition, Azawad Liberation Front, in the city of Kidal.
The CMA is chaired by Ibrahim Ould Handa as of 2023. Sidi Brahim Ould Sidati, president of the CMA from 2017 to 2018, was assassinated in Bamako on April 13, 2021.
The CMA formed the Permanent Strategic Framework for Peace, Security, and Development (CSP-PSD) coalition with Platform in 2021. Platform withdrew from the CSP-PSD in 2024.