Ansar Dine was a militant Islamist group in Mali that was active from 2012 to 2017, led by Iyad Ag Ghaly. Ansar Dine sought to impose strict sharia law across the country, and it sought to convert Mali into a rigid theocracy. Ansar Dine overwhelmed much of Azawad, implementing sharia law in Timbuktu, and it was involved in the destruction of cultural heritage sites. In 2017, Ansar Dine merged into Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin.