Mali official says militants trashing ancient manuscripts as French troops surround Timbuktu

A Malian soldier takes position in Konna, as French and Malian troops advance on Mali's fabled desert city of Timbuktu, Jan. 27, 2013. / FRED DUFOUR/AFP/Getty Images

SEVARE, Mali Islamist extremists torched a library containing historic manuscripts in Timbuktu, the mayor said Monday, as French and Malian forces closed in on Mali's fabled desert city.

Ousmane Halle said he heard about the burnings early Monday.

"It's truly alarming that this has happened," he told The Associated Press by telephone from Mali's capital, Bamako, on Monday. "They torched all the important ancient manuscripts. The ancient books of geography and science. It is the history of Timbuktu, of its people."

He said he did not have details or whether the rebels were still in the town.

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Ground forces backed by French paratroopers and helicopters took control of Timbuktu's airport and the roads leading to the town in an overnight operation, a French military official said Monday. It marked the latest success in the two-week-old French mission to oust radical Islamists from the northern half of Mali, which they seized more than nine months ago.

French Col. Thierry Burkhard, the chief military spokesman in Paris, said Monday that the town's airport was taken without firing a shot.

"There was an operation on Timbuktu last night that allowed us to control access to the town," he said Monday. "It's up to Malian forces to retake the town."

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The Timbuktu operation comes a day after the French announced they had seized the airport and a key bridge in a city east of Timbuktu, Gao, one of the other northern provincial capitals that had been under the grip of radical Islamists.

The French and Malian forces so far have met little resistance from the Islamists, who seized northern Mali in the wake of a military coup in the distant capital of Bamako, in southern Mali.

CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer says the militants largely seem to be melting away, rather than standing and fighting, but the French warn that they may simply be moving further north into the desert and planning to regroup and then return. The challenge of securing northern Mali in the longer-term, however, is enormous, even with the help of armies from neighboring African nations. The sprawling desert region is almost twice the size of Texas.

Timbuktu, which lies on an ancient caravan route, has entranced travelers for centuries, is some 620 miles northeast of Bamako. During their rule, the militants have systematically destroyed UNESCO World Heritage sites in Timbuktu.

A spokesman for the al Qaeda-linked militants has said that the ancient tombs of Sufi saints were destroyed because they contravened Islam, encouraging Muslims to venerate saints instead of God.

Among the tombs they destroyed is that of Sidi Mahmoudou, a saint who died in 955, according to the UNESCO website.

Timbuktu, long a hub of Islamic learning, is also home to some 20,000 manuscripts, some dating back as far as the 12th century. Owners have succeeded in removing some of the manuscripts from Timbuktu to save them, while others have been carefully hidden away from the Islamists.

[88Ronin]

Ticobird, are you a Costa Rican "Tico" or does Tico mean something else to you?

Costa Ricans call themselves Ticos.

[ticobird]

Tico is the name of my pet Lutino Cockatiel. Thanks for the succinct and well worded write-up of the Islamic situation.

[88Ronin]

Ticobird, the islamic "soldiers, explorers, and adventurers" running amok in Mali, are at the service of The Islamic Caliphate, which includes supporting nations like Iran, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Malaysia et al.

It is a much larger conspiracy than you currently imagine. It is like a United States of Islam. The califate represents many nations. Their stated goal for centuries has been world domination by Islam. They have only recently acquired the monetary means to attempt military action, being funded by such countries a Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Iran's oil money.

[88Ronin]

These islamist* militant are no different than the christian* conquistadors of Mexico, who destroyed the scientific records of The Mayan and Aztec cultures.

Religion is always on the side of ignorance.

Religion poisons everything.

*Lower case denotes disrespect.

[ticobird]

Point made but while the Spanish Conquistadors were soldiers, explorers, and adventurers at the service of Spain the Islamic extremists do not have a nation state sponsor which actually makes them much more dangerous.

[88Ronin]

Ticobird, the islamic "soldiers, explorers, and adventurers" running amok in Mali, are at the service of The Islamic Caliphate, which includes supporting nations like Iran, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Malaysia et al.

It is a much larger conspiracy than you currently imagine. It is like a United States of Islam, representing many nations. Their stated goal for centuries has been world domination by Islam. They have only recently acquired the monetary means to attempt military action, being funded by such countries a Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Iran's oil money.

[ticobird]

Unfortunately vandalism like this is nothing new to the Islamic non-tolerance of other respected historical works of art or religions such as the Hindu faith. This is just one more validation that Islamic extremists are nothing more than thugs masquerading as religious "true believers."

[quincytodd]

Maybe those idiots in Paris should have thought twice about jumping into Mali. The same thing happened in Iraq when Bush maliciously invaded that country back in 2003. The thieves broke into the national museum in Baghdad and stole thousands of priceless artifacts which will never be replaced!