Tuareg people form a distinct minority in all the Saharan countries they inhabit and a majority in many Saharan regions. In many cases, the Tuareg have been marginalised by governments based in the Sahel or on the Mediterranean coast. Desertification and droughts in 1972–74 and 84–85 killed livestock and forced the alteration of traditional migration routes, increasing conflict between neighboring groups. Aid from national governments was often unforthcoming, and many sided against the Tuareg–one notable exception being Libya. In both Mali and Niger large numbers of Tuareg nomads fled to refugee camps in Algeria and Libya. There, militants who blamed their respective national governments for failing to aid communities in need began to co-mingle and form the future rebel groups.