The Tuareg (also Twareg or Touareg, Berber: Imuhagh, besides regional ethnyms) are a Berber nomadic pastoralist people. They are the principal inhabitants of the Saharan interior of North Africa. The name Tuareg was applied to them by early explorers and historians (since Leo Africanus). The Tuareg today are found mostly in North Africa and West Africa. Some historians claim they progressively moved south over the last 2000 years.