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Mali: Islamists destroy Timbuktu heritage sites
On Friday, another Islamist militant group in the lawless north, the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), threatened any countries which join a military intervention force to end the crisis.
UNESCO, the world’s main watchdog over the safety of some of history’s greatest treasures and most threatened cultural exhibits, first designated Timbuktu a heritage site in 1988.
As well as three historic mosques, Timbuktu has 16 cemeteries and mausolea, according to the UNESCO website.
It is also home to nearly 100,000 ancient manuscripts, some dating back to the 12th century, preserved in family homes and private libraries under the care of religious scholars.
At its height in the 1500s, the city, a Niger River port at the edge of the Sahara 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) north of Bamako, was the key intersection for salt traders travelling from the north and gold traders from the south.
Copyright 2012 AFP.
