#Gravitas In the heart of Mali, the ancient city of Timbuktu is alive with celebration. A city once known for its golden age of learning is now honouring a monumental symbol of its heritage.  Hundreds have gathered to preserve and celebrate a mosque that has stood for seven centuries.

Timbuktu Residents Plaster 700-Year-Old Mosque to Celebrate Heritage 

The Malian military government started returning home the historic manuscripts of Timbuktu, which were spirited out of their fabled northern city when it was occupied by al-Qaida-linked militants more than a decade ago. Islamic radicals destroyed more than 4,000 manuscripts, some dating back to the 13th century, after they seized Timbuktu in 2012, according to the findings of a united nations expert mission.


Timbuktu's Ancient Manuscripts Return Amid Fragile Peace

Islamist militants in Mali began a blockade of Timbuktu by cutting road access in august and then shut off river and air routes in an offensive that has put the city once again on the frontline of an insurgency. People living in cities in Mali under siege by Al-Qaeda-linked militants say they are facing shortages of food, fuel and medicine, and rapidly rising prices. The blockades have come as fighting intensifies between the army, who are backed by russian wagner mercenaries, and both islamist groups and ethnic tuareg separatist fighters.

Mali's Timbuktu is suffering

Timbuktu under siege: Jihadist fighters block roads, cut off supplies

Swiss woman killed by jihadist group was a missionary

This is the first verdict to focus solely on cultural destruction as a war crime

Malian jihadist to be sentenced today for razing nine Timbuktu monuments

Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi is the first extremist charged by the war crimes court and the first to face solo charges of cultural destruction

Malian jihadist to plead guilty for attacking mausoleums

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