The current war in Mali is the result of the coup of March 2012 and the offensive of the Tuareg and the Islamists in December 2012. In January 2013, a multinational force (operation Serval) intervened, a UN mandate to restore the sovereignty of the territories Saharan northern Mali. The genesis of this conflict has really deep roots, and to understand their profile geo-political and ethno-cultural it is necessary to retrace the precipitating events that occurred many years ago.