Cultural heritage vanishes in Mali due to civil war as 4,203 manuscripts in Ahmed Baba Library of Timbuktu, in the north of the West African country, were lost.
24,537 manuscripts, which had been 38,830 before the civil war in the country, were moved from the library to the capital Bamako.
Timbuktu was founded in the 11th century as a major city in the Mali Empire and its prominence lasted until the 18th century.
The city has been accepted as a religious center since 15th century.
25 thousand students from many countries of the continent have been studying at the University of Sankore which was established in the same century.
There are about 200 thousands books in the library where the manuscripts on religion, mathematics, physics, astronomy and botany are stored.
An expert with Ahmed Baba Institute of Higher Learning and Islamic Research, Garba Traore, said, "4,203 manuscripts at Ahmed Baba Library of Timbuktu have disappeared due to the civil war. 24,537 manuscripts, which were 38,830 before the civil war in the country, have been moved from the library to the capital Bamako."
- "Books are sacred to the people of the region"
Stating that the manuscripts were like a treasure that had to be protected carefully, Traore said, "Books are sacred to the people of the region. The manuscripts which serve as the memory of Mali are very important for the protection of the public consciousness and identity."
In January 2012, an armed conflict broke out in northern Mali, which Tuareg rebels took control by April and declared the secession of a new state, Azawad.
The Timbuktu library, contained over 20,000 manuscripts, was torched in January 2013.
The conflict was complicated by a military coup that took place in March and later fighting between Tuareg and Islamist rebels. In response to Islamist territorial gains, the French military launched Opération Serval in January 2013.
A month later, Malian and French forces recaptured most of the north.
