The ongoing conflict in Northern Mali is rooted in the country's geography and its history. The Niger River forms the backbone of the country and it essentially splits the country in two. The arid North, also known as Azawad, is home to the nomadic Tuareg people who share ethnic ties the Berber people. The South is a relative fertile region and is home to the Mandee people, a cultural group of people that populate the West African region. Both ethnic peoples form the core of Mali's history but both played a completely different role