- Mali Developments in 2012
- January: Tuareg fighters launch new rebellion in north.
- March 22: Renegade soldiers stage coup in capital, Bamako.
- March 30-April 1: Tuareg separatists, aided by Islamist militants, seize control of key northern regions.
- April 1: Under international pressure, junta agrees to return power to civilians
- April 6: Rebels declare the north an independent state named "Azawad."
- April 8: President Amadou Toumani Toure officially resigns.
- April 12: Parliament speaker Dioncounda Traore becomes interim president.
- April 26: Interim leaders announce new government, with military in three key posts.
- May 26: Tuareg separatists, Ansar Dine militants sign agreement to create Islamic state of Azawad.
- June 1: Tuareg/Ansar Dine alliance breaks down over Sharia dispute.
- June 27: Islamists defeat Tuareg separatists in Gao, bringing all major northern cities under hardliners' control.
- July 29: Ansar Dine publicly executes a man and a woman on charges of adultery.
- June 30: Hardline Islamists in the north begin destroying ancient shrines in Timbuktu that the U.N. declared a World Heritage site.
- August 20: Mali announces a new unity government under the leadership of interim Prime Minister Cheick Modibo Diarra.
- September 17: The Economic Community of West African States meets on Mali.
- October 12: U.N. Security Council passes resolution clearing the way for deployment of foreign troops to Mali.
- October 24: African Union lifts Mali's suspension from the organization.
- November 14: African Union approves plan for West African military force to deploy to Mali. Plan now goes to U.N. Security Council for final approval.