Mali is a landlocked country in West Africa, with its capital being located at Bamako. The country was colonized by France untile 20 June 1960, when French Sudan declared its independence from France and splintered into Mali and Senegal. Mali was subjected to one-party rule until a 1991 coup that led to the establishment of a democratic, multi-party state. In January 2012, the Malian Civil War erupted as Tuareg rebels in the north created an independent state of Azawad and Islamist rebels from Ansar Dine and al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb announced their intention to create an Islamic state. France intervened militarily in 2013, and legislative elections were held that same year in the aftermath of a coup against Amadou Toumani Toure's government. In 2009, Mali had a population of 14,517,176 people, with 90% being Muslim.
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