Rebels desecrate Timbuktu treasures as French troops move in

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Wanting to do as much damage to the world as possible, al-Qaeda militants retreating from French troops in conflict-ridden Mali torched buildings housing priceless manuscripts and other artefacts, some dating back to the 13^th century.

Timbuktu, the city storing the manuscripts, is synonymous with remoteness and adventure. It has been under militant control for more 10 months and only in the past week has it been returned to government control.

The wanton destruction and callous disregard for human history is the latest example of a poisonous ideology still managing to attract dutiful followers.

As in Afghanistan – where new Taliban rulers, drunk on power and enacting a similarly pious assignment, blew up ancient statues of Buddha in the Bamyan province – so too are Islamists in Mali attempting to eviscerate history in their new holy war front.

When the Islamists barrelled in to Timbuktu last year they quickly enacted the radically conservative view of Islam known as Sharia. Local women were ordered to cover their faces and bodies, female images were obscured on billboards and the city’s iconic music scene was forced to lay down their instruments.

'A divine order'

Caught on mobile camera in a bizarre synthesis of high technology and ancient ideology, old tombs were desecrated as a supposed act of holy fervour, even though the mausoleums host the remains of long-dead Muslim holy men.

The groups took pickaxes and shovels, levelling mausoleums dating to 900AD. Apparently, in the warped thinking of the al-Qaeda zealots, any veneration of the holy men, including the tombs themselves, count as idolatry. Such a heretical crime means total destruction.

The demolition was proudly described as, “a divine order” by a spokesman for those responsible, Ansar Dine. The Islamist group is affiliated with al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), which explains much of the pathetic motivation for such barbarian callousness.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Timbuktu city mayor Ousmane Halle said: “They torched all the important ancient manuscripts. The ancient books of geography and science. It is the history of Timbuktu, of its people.”

UNESCO, the UN’s cultural agency, tragically reports as many as half of Timbuktu’s shrines “have been destroyed in a display of fanaticism”.

The sites belong to a unique set of World Heritage treasures, the destruction of which has been called a war crime by the International Criminal Court’s new chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda.

Members of Ansar Dine also threw down the doors of the 15^th century Sidi Yahya mosque. It might not seem like much but local tradition believes the doors would only open at the end of the world. For the quiet desert crossroads of Timbuktu, the militant desolation is the closest they must have felt to the end times.

French forces approaching

And yet, some good news appears on the horizon. The Islamist groups torched the artefacts and raised the tombs when they realised French and African troops were closing on the city. French forces quickly took Timbuktu back with air assaults and a paratroop drop.

France achieved full control of the territory it wanted to secure during Operation Serval. Special forces supported by airstrikes pushed the militant groups out of southern Mali and cleared rebel positions in the top half of the hourglass-shaped country.

African troops are now being readied for deployment in northern Mali to take over operations from the French and act as security during a stuttering return to normalcy.

French and other Nato forces were able to make strong, fast headway in the conflict with overwhelming firepower and highly-trained troops, although the militants were not caught unawares.

It is likely they have melted into the background of the local population in classic guerrilla-style tactics, waiting for the inevitable departure of the bulk of French forces. Engaging a superior military force would be folly for them, so living to fight another day is prudent.

The militants have time on their side, whereas the French will not wish to commit large numbers of the troops in the massive, sparsely-populated desert country any longer than necessary.

Some will say Nato’s military engagement was too long delayed, given that first serious signs of instability took place more than 10 months ago.

But the international teams are in-country now and appear to have won the first round. Some special operations forces and around 5000 African troops will remain for the foreseeable future to prevent a large-scale return of militants.

Getting the country back on its feet is essential if the militants are to be quelled long term. But stability is a complex goal and not likely to be reached in the short term.

Nathan Smith has a Bachelor of Communications in Journalism from Massey University and has studied international relations and conflict