Army Day (Mali)

Army Day is a public holiday in Mali, observed on January 20 each year. Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. People inhabited the territory for thousands of years. In the late 19th century, Mali fell under the control of France as part of French Sudan.

On September 22, 1960, Mali gained independence and Modibo Keita became the first President. The Malian army was formed in October 1960 by the volunteer veterans of the French Armed Forces. In the following two decades, the army relied primarily on the Soviet Union for training.

A bloodless military coup in 1968 led by Moussa Traore overthrew the Keita regime. Moussa Traore became the head of the state. In 1974, a new constitution was approved, and he built a single-party state. The growing demands for multi-party democracy led to anti-government demonstrations. In 1991, Moussa Traore was arrested during the March revolution.

The Tuareg rebellion began in 1990, which led to the civil war. The Malian army largely collapsed when it fought against the Tuareg separatists and Islamist rebels in 2012. A group of soldiers staged a coup, seized power in March 2012, and asked for foreign military support. The French military arrived the following year, and since then, the French forces rebuilt the Malian military.

The following is the list of Army Day in Mali from 2022 to 2026.

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