Pada awal Juni, Presiden Nigeria [[Mahamadou Issoufou]] menyatakan bahwa pejuang Afghanistan dan Pakistan melatih pasukan pemberontak Azawad.<ref><cite class="citation web">[http://www.france24.com/en/20120607-foreign-jihadists-operating-trainers-northern-mali-issofou-france24-interview "Afghan, Pakistani jihadists 'operating in northern Mali'"]. </cite></ref>
=== Pertempuran Gao dan akibatnya ===
[[Berkas:Tuareg_rebel_in_northern_Mali.PNG|jmpl|Sebuah pasukan Tuareg di utara Mali]]
[[Berkas:Islamist_fighters_in_northern_Mali.PNG|jmpl|Pejuang muslim di utara Mali]]
== Popular culture ==
Mali earned the first win in the [[Piala Afrika 2013|2013 Africa Cup of Nations]] football championship on 20 January 2013 with a 1–0 win over Niger. After scoring the only goal, [[Seydou Keita]] displayed a T-shirt with a peace sign on it.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/21/sports/soccer/mali-gets-first-african-cup-of-nations-win.html?_r=0|title=Mali Gets First African Cup of Nations Win|date=21 January 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=21 January 2013}}</ref> A number of musicians from Mali came together to record the song ''Mali-ko'' (meaning peace) and release a video ''Voices United for Mali-'Mali-ko'''<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elwA7SHM8_U <span class="plainlinks">Voices United for Mali-'Mali-ko' (Peace / La Paix)-Français sous-titres</span>]<span> on YouTube</span></ref> in early 2013 about the ongoing conflict in the country. The collaboration includes many well-known Malian musicians, including Oumou Sangaré, Vieux Farka Touré, and Amadou & Mariam.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonykosner/2013/01/19/for-music-fans-the-tragic-war-in-mali-has-a-human-voice-lots-of-them/|title=For Music Fans, The Tragic War in Mali Has A Human Voice, Lots of Them|last=Kosner|first=Anthony Wing|date=19 January 2013|newspaper=Forbes|archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20130122082352/http://www.forbes.com:80/sites/anthonykosner/2013/01/19/for-music-fans-the-tragic-war-in-mali-has-a-human-voice-lots-of-them/|archive-date=22 January 2013|dead-url=yes|access-date=19 January 2013}}</ref>
