Mali Islamists Destroy More Timbuktu Mausoleums

Men work alongside one of Timburktu's historic mud mosques, in Timbuktu, Mali. (file photo)

Islamist militants are tearing down more ancient mausoleums in the northern Malian city of Timbuktu.

Witnesses and tourism officials say rebels from the Ansar Dine group began destroying the mausoleums Sunday with pickaxes.

The militants destroyed several mausoleums in the city in July, after the U.N. cultural agency, UNESCO, put Timbuktu on its list of sites that are in danger.

UNESCO has listed Timbuktu as a World Heritage site for its ancient mosques and shrines, some of which date back to the 15th century.

The sites are revered by many Muslims but Ansar Dine considers them sacrilegious.

Ansar Dine is one of three militant groups that seized control of northern Mali earlier this year, after renegade soldiers overthrew the government.

The groups are trying to enforce a strict form of Islamic law across the territory.  The U.N. and human rights groups have condemned the militants for abuses that include amputations and floggings of alleged criminals.

On Thursday, the United Nations Security Council has authorized the deployment of foreign troops to Mali.

The Economic Community of West African States
is making plans to send a force of between 3,000 and 4,000 soldiers to retrain the Malian army and help retake the north.

from VOA NewsDecember 23, 2012
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from MAGHAREBIA:
 
Mali Islamists launch fresh attacks on Timbuktu shrines

23/12/2012

Islamists occupying Timbuktu were using pickaxes on Sunday (December 23rd) to destroy any remaining mausoleums in the ancient city, an Islamist leader told AFP.

"Not a single mausoleum will remain in Timbuktu, God doesn't like it. We are in the process of smashing all the hidden mausoleums in the area," said Abou Dardar, an Ansar al-Din leader.

In related news, al-Qaeda splinter group Movement for Tawhid and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO) said Saturday that it cut off the hands of two people in Gao as part of its interpretation of Sharia, AFP reported. The terror group warned another eight people could face a similar fate.

"It's God's law and no one can stop us from applying it," said Moctar Barry, a leader of MUJAO, which controls the city of Gao.

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Mali rebels say drop separatist goal

BAMAKO, July 15 (Reuters) - Tuareg-led Mali rebels who seized the north of the West African country in April declared on Sunday they had dropped claims for a separate state after the rebellion was hijacked by al Qaeda-linked Islamists now holding sway in the north.

"We are seeking cultural, political and economic independence but not secession," Ibrahim Ag Assaleh, a senior member of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), told Reuters by telephone.

Azawad is the name which the MNLA gives to the northern territory of Mali in which it declared an independence that has been ignored by a world more concerned with the threat of Mali become a launchpad for jihadi activities.

A second MNLA official, Hama Ag Mahmoud, told Reuters in the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott: "Independence has been our line since the start of the conflict but we are taking on board the view of the international community to resolve this crisis."

Islamist groups including the local Ansar Dine have imposed strict sharia, Islamic law, across the north and destroyed UNESCO-listed shrines to local saints in the ancient town of Timbuktu, arguing that such worship is un-Islamic.

Contacted by telephone in Timbuktu, Ansar Dine spokesman Sanda Ould Boumana said he was not aware of any change in the MNLA position but added: "What I can tell you is that it is us who control the three regions of the north."

(Reporting by Tiemoko Diallo in Bamako; Mark John in Dakar; Writing by Mark John; Editing by Alison Williams)

from REUTERS
Sun Jul 15, 2012 1:05pm GMT

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