In this area, Koyra Chiini is the dominant language and the lingua franca, although minorities speaking Hassaniya Arabic, Tamasheq and Fulfulde are found.

East of Timbuktu, Koyra Chiini gives way relatively abruptly to another Songhay language, Koyraboro Senni.

Unlike most Songhai languages, Koyra Chiini has no phonemic tones and has subject–verb–object word order rather than subject–object–verb.

[3] Table below illustrates the Latin alphabet for Koyra Chiini in Mali, as standardized by "DNAFLA".

It describes the 1840 battle of Toya in which Tuaregs defeated a force from the Fula "Empire" which had its capital in Hamdullahi.