On January 2012, several insurgent groups started fighting a campaign against the Malian government with the intention to gain independence or greater autonomy for northern Mali, an area known as Azawad. One year passed, President of France François Hollande agreed to a request from the government of Mali for foreign military aid and deployed a contingent to support Mali troops to block a rebel advance on the capital city, Bamako. Within days, a coalition of french, malian and several western african countries started fighting the insurgent groups in an attempt to regain control of the country's northern provinces.