During a demonstration in the city of Kidal on 17 July, in the north of the country, young Malians burned the Malian flag and destroyed symbols of the Republic. Some demonstrators chanted "Long live to Azawad".
Azawad is an almost entirely a desert territory located in Northern Mali, covering Sahara-Sahel areas wherein the Tuareg separatist groups are demanding independence, which they proclaimed in 2012, before
renouncing it in 2013.
