Ansar Dine, AQIM and MUJAO turn on and expel the MNLA from Gao, Timbuktu and Kidal, imposing their rule on the northern cities — destroying shrines in Timbuktu and applying hudud punishments.
Why it mattersThe separatist rebellion and the jihadist project were connected but never identical: within three months of "Azawad", the jihadists owned the north and the separatists were in exile. Conflating the two remains the most common analytical error about Mali.