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July 2nd, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda
“This includes attacks against historical monuments as well as
destruction of buildings dedicated to religion,” said Mr Bensouda.
On Saturday the Islamists destroyed the tombs of Sidi Mahmoud, Sidi Moctar and
Alpha Moya, and on Sunday attacked four more including Cheikh el-Kebir’s
mausoleum as residents stood by helplessly.
Crying “Allahu akbar” (God is Greatest), the men carrying chisels
and hoes smashed the tombs.
“There are many of us watching them destroy the mausoleum. It hurts but
we can’t do anything. These madmen are armed, we can’t do anything but they
will be cursed that is for sure,” a journalist said on condition of
anonymity.
He said the destruction at the Djingareyber cemetery ended in the late
afternoon, with four tombs in total destroyed. The Islamists also destroyed
earthenware jars and other artefacts around the tombs.
The cemetery is situated in the south of Timbuktu in the suburb of the
eponymous Djingareyber mosque built from mud in 1327.
Another resident of Timbuktu, a former tour operator, said the Islamists had
also threatened to destroy the ancient mosques.
“This morning (Sunday) the Islamists told us that if there are saints
inside the mosques, they will also destroy these mosques.”
Several saints are buried inside the city’s three historic mosques. Timbuktu
is also home to 16 cemeteries and mausoleums, according to the UNESCO
website.
The Islamist fighters from Ansar Dine (Defenders of Faith) are among the
al-Qaeda-linked armed groups which occupied the north of Mali in the chaos
that emerged after a March coup in Bamako.
Their presence in Timbuktu and continued violence in the region prompted
UNESCO on Thursday to list the city as an endangered site.
“It is Islam which is good,” Ansar Dine spokesman Sanda Ould
Boumama said when asked about the outpouring of anger and emotion over the
destruction of the mausolea.
“God is unique. All of this is haram (forbidden in Islam). We are all
Muslims. UNESCO is what?” Mr Boumama said on Saturday.
He said the group was acting in the name of God and would “destroy every
mausoleum in the city. All of them, without exception”.
Mali’s Culture and Tourism Minister Fadima Diallo on Sunday urged the United
Nations to take action to preserve her country’s heritage.
“Mali exhorts the UN to take concrete steps to stop these crimes against
the cultural heritage of my people,” she told UNESCO’s annual meeting
in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg.
“I am pleading for the international community’s solidarity,” she
said, ending her emotional address by saying: “God help Mali”.
United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon deplored the destruction of tombs, with his
spokesman Martin Nesirky quoting him as saying: “Such attacks against
cultural heritage sites are totally unjustified.”
Mr Nesirky added: “The secretary-general calls on all parties to exercise
their responsibility to preserve the cultural heritage of Mali.”
Ban also reiterated his support for ongoing efforts of the Economic Community
of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Union and countries in the
region to “help the government and people of Mali resolve the current
crisis through dialogue.”
The attacks were reminiscent of the Taliban blowing up the giant Buddhas of
the Bamiyan valley in Afghanistan – an ancient Buddhist shrine on the Silk
Road and a world heritage site – in 2001 after branding them un-Islamic.
UNESCO session chairwoman Yeleonor Mitrofanova told a meeting in Saint
Petersburg that the destruction was tragic news.
“I appeal to all those engaged in the conflict in Timbuktu to exercise
their responsibility – for the sake of future generations, spare the legacy
of their past,” she said.
In a matter of months Mali has gone from one of west Africa’s stable
democracies to a nation gripped by deadly chaos.
The March 22 coup eased the way for Tuareg separatist rebels – descendants of
those who founded Timbuktu in the fifth century – to carry out the armed
takeover of an area larger than France they consider their homeland.
However the previously unknown Ansar Dine group fighting on their flanks
seized the upper hand, openly allied with al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb,
and have since pushed the Tuareg from all positions of power.
The international community fears the vast desert area will become a new haven
for terrorist activity and the Islamists have threatened any country that
joins a possible military intervention force in Mali.
Source: agencies
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