Pretoria - Damage to Timbuktu’s cultural heritage due to fighting between Government forces and Tuareg rebels is more extensive than first estimated, says a United Nations-led team following an assessment of the fabled city.
Lazare Eloundou Assomo of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) World Heritage Centre said the destruction is “even more alarming than we thought.”
The team discovered that 14 of Timbuktu’s mausoleums, including those that are part of the UNESCO World Heritage sites, were totally destroyed, reports the UN news agency.
In addition, the fighting destroyed parts of the Djingareyber Mosque, one of three madrassas comprising the University of Timbuktu. It is believed to have been built around 1327, mostly out of straw and wood with some limestone reinforcements.
The emblematic El Farouk independence monument in the shape of a horse at the entrance to the city was also destroyed said Eloundou Assomo.
While an estimated 4 203 manuscripts from the Ahmed Baba research centre were lost, another 300 000 were exfiltrated
, mainly to Bamako, and “are in urgent need of conservation,” he added.UNESCO and its partners are now putting together a list of priorities and focusing in more detail on the damages.
An estimated $11 million has to be found to begin work as soon as possible, said Eloundou Assomo.
Timbuktu was an intellectual and spiritual capital and a centre for the propagation of Islam throughout Africa in the 15th and 16th centuries.
The ancient texts date back as far as the 13th century and cover a range of topics, from astronomy to poetry.
The library was constructed by South Africa in an effort to preserve Africa's heritage and intellectual property. - SAnews.gov.za
