Ansar al-Sharia (Mali)
Following the Azawad insurgency in 2012, the northern region of Mali achieved de facto independence from the Mali central government, with the region taken over by a number of Islamist groups including Ansar Dine, Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.[1] Most of the group's leaders are from the Arab clans of Berabiches from Timbuktu; some of the families of this tribe reportedly have relations by marriage with elements of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.Like the other Ansar al-Sharia groups, the branch in Mali is described as based on certain principles, such as opposition to western-democracy, Salafist Jihadism ideology and the goal of establishing an Islamic emirate.[1] Its formation was not accompanied by the provision of aid and religious preaching that has been typical of other branches of Ansar al-Sharia.[3] Following the 2013 French intervention in northern Mali, the Jihadist groups formerly running the region switched to fighting an insurgency; however, Ansar al-Sharia has not been credited with participating in any of them.