Berber separatism in North Africa Berber separatism in North Africa Berber separatism in North Africa refers to a century-long independence struggle of ethnic Berber groups in the areas of modern Morocco, Algeria, Mali and Libya. The first chapter of this modern separatism was embodied in the Rif War, which led to the creation of short-lived Rif Republic (1920–1926). Despite the disintegration of this Berber state, the independence movement continued during the 20th century in Algeria and in 21st century was led by Tuareg tribes in Mali and Libya (the failed attempt to form the Azawad state within Mali in 2012 and "de facto" formation of
Berber languages Oasis of Egypt. Large Berber-speaking migrant communities, today numbering about 4 million, have been living in Western Europe, spanning over three generations, since the 1950s. The number of Berber people is much higher than the number of Berber speakers. The bulk of the populations of the Maghreb countries are considered to have Berber ancestors. Around 90% of the Berber-speaking population speak one of seven major varieties of Berber, each with at least 2 million speakers. They are, in order of number of speakers: Shilha ("Tacelḥit/Tasussit"), Kabyle ("Taqbaylit"), Central Atlas Tamazight ("Tamaziɣt"), Riffian (internal:"Tmaziɣt, external:Tarifit"), Shawiya ("Tacawit") and Tuareg ("Tamaceq/Tamajaq/Tamahaq"). The