Kidal
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Kidal
ⴾⴸⵍ | |
|---|---|
 A craftsmen's house | |
  Kidal Location in Mali | |
| Coordinates: 18°26′20″N 1°24′30″E / 18.43889°N 1.40833°E | |
| Country |  Mali |
| Control |  Azawad Liberation Front Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin |
| Region | Kidal Region |
| Cercle (district): | Kidal Cercle |
| Area | |
• Total | 9,913 km2 (3,827 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 463 m (1,519 ft) |
| Population (2009)[1] | |
• Total | 25,617 |
| • Density | 2.584/km2 (6.693/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+00:00 (GMT) |
Kidal (Tuareg Berber: ⴾⴸⵍ, KDL, Kidal) is a town and commune in the desert region of northern Mali. The town lies 285 km (177 mi) northeast of Gao and is the capital of the Kidal Cercle and the Kidal Region. The commune has an area of about 9,910 km2 (3,830 sq mi) and includes the town of Kidal and 31 other settlements.[2]
On 30 March 2012, Kidal and its military base were captured by the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad as part of the Tuareg rebellion for the independence of Azawad. A spokesman for the Malian military junta said "To preserve the life of the people of Kidal, the military command decided not to prolong the battle".[3] Gao and Timbuktu were captured within the next 48 hours, and on 6 April, the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad declared the independence of Azawad from Mali.[4][5] In the course of the conflict the MNLA lost their control to Islamist militias.[6] On 30 January 2013 French and Malian forces moved into the town to bring it back under government control.[7]
On 14 December 2013, a car bombing in Kidal killed two United Nations peacekeepers.[8]
On 21 May 2014, MNLA forced government troops in Kidal to retreat after heavy fighting, capturing the military base.[9]
On 13 February 2020, Mali government forces were sent to Kidal for the first time in six years.[10] In late 2023, the ruling junta carried out an offensive along with Wagner Group fighters. They managed to bring the city back under government control in the Battle of Kidal in November 2023.[11] In April 2026, the Azawad Liberation Front launched an assault on the city as part of a coordinated offensive across the country.[12] The rebels later reported that they had captured the city and posted a video of rebels in the governor's residence.[13]
Demographics
Historical population
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 11,159 | — |
| 2009 | 25,969 | +7.98% |
| sources:[14] | ||
The population of the city of Kidal has grown from 11,159 in 1998 to 25,969 in 2009, raising its percentage in the Kidal Region from 26.3% to 38.3%.
Languages
Kidal city is mainly Tamasheq speaking with 79.13% of the city speaking it in 2009. The second most spoken language in Kidal city is Songhai with 7.18% of the city speaking it. Other minority languages include Bambara spoken by 5.51% of the city, Arabic spoken by 3.78% of the city, and other minority languages spoken by 4.4%. Most of educated peoples and shopkeepers are also speaking french.
Notable inhabitants
- Ahmed Ag Kaedy (born 1979) - musician
- Nina Wallet Intalou (born 1963) - businesswoman and politician
Climate
Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies it climate as hot desert (BWh), with extremely hot weather most of the year.
| Climate data for Kidal (1950–2000) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 28.0 (82.4) |
31.1 (88.0) |
34.8 (94.6) |
38.8 (101.8) |
41.5 (106.7) |
41.9 (107.4) |
39.9 (103.8) |
38.4 (101.1) |
39.1 (102.4) |
38.0 (100.4) |
33.4 (92.1) |
28.9 (84.0) |
36.2 (97.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 12.5 (54.5) |
14.8 (58.6) |
18.7 (65.7) |
23.0 (73.4) |
27.0 (80.6) |
28.6 (83.5) |
27.2 (81.0) |
26.2 (79.2) |
26.0 (78.8) |
23.2 (73.8) |
18.0 (64.4) |
13.7 (56.7) |
21.6 (70.9) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 0.6 (0.02) |
0.1 (0.00) |
0.2 (0.01) |
1.0 (0.04) |
5.3 (0.21) |
11.6 (0.46) |
36.8 (1.45) |
45.9 (1.81) |
23.1 (0.91) |
3.0 (0.12) |
0.2 (0.01) |
0.2 (0.01) |
128.0 (5.04) |
| Average rainy days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 6.1 | 6.9 | 3.9 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 22.6 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 274.5 | 267.3 | 286.1 | 283.9 | 294.0 | 230.8 | 269.8 | 276.9 | 271.6 | 296.4 | 286.6 | 275.5 | 3,313.4 |
| Source 1: World Meteorological Organization[16] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: NOAA (sun 1961–1990)[17] | |||||||||||||
