Homesick blues

Tinariwen went from Saharan weddings to winning Grammys-but violence forced them into exile. Now, a new generation is stepping in to help

- By Ammar Kalia

Since their formation in 1979, Tuareg guitar band Tinariwen have been without a homeland. Moving between Mali, Libya and Algeria, the Grammy-winning group have used their desert blues music as a lament for a wandering refugee status that continues to this day.

Co-founder Abdallah Ag Alhousseyni says the group are currently in Algeria, after band members had to flee their homes in Mali in October 2024. “The Malian military and the Russian mercenary group Wagner have been burning villages, slaughtering animals and raping women,” he says. “No one is talking about what is happening - no politicians or journalists - so we have to let the world know through our music.”

While the Tuareg people are traditionally nomadic, living across the Saharan desert, the region’s increasingly complex politics have often placed them in violent situations. Most recently, clashes on the northern Mali border between encroaching Islamist militant groups, the Malian military, Tuareg rebel groups and Wagner mercenaries have caused mass displacements and human rights abuses in the country. It’s a harrowing conflict that now takes centre stage on Tinariwen’s 10th studio album, Hoggar.