Islamists destroy Timbuktu’s historic treasures
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A still from a video shows Islamist militants destroying an ancient shrine in Timbuktu on July 1, 2012. Islamist rebels in northern Mali smashed four more tombs of ancient Muslim saints in Timbuktu on July 1 as the International Criminal Court warned their campaign of destruction was a war crime. The hardline Islamists who seized control of Timbuktu along with the rest of northern Mali three months ago, consider the shrines to be idolatrous and have wrecked seven tombs in two days. They began their destruction of tombs on JUne 30, 2012, after UNESCO put Timbuktu on its list of endangered world heritage sites.
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