By Ryan Aliman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa
BAMAKO, Mali – Considered one of the centers from which Islam spread through Africa in the 15th and 16th centuries, Timbuktu may be counting its last days of existence as armed men raze the fabled city.
The attack came from radical Islamists from the Al- Qaeda linked Ansar Dine (Defenders of Faith). The campaign began after UNESCO declared the site an endangered World Heritage Site. Carrying chisels and hoes, the attackers smashed four more tombs of Muslim saints in the face of the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) warning that the destruction of sites such as Timbuktu constituted a war crime.
On Saturday the group destroyed the tombs of Sidi Mahmoud, Sidi Moctar and Alpha Moya, and on Sunday attacked four more including Cheikh el-Kebir’s mausoleum.
Yaya Tandina, a local journalist said that about 30 men, armed with Kalashnikovs and pickaxes destroyed three mausoleums of saints.
Witnesses say that the group targeted the 15th-century Sidi Yahya mosque on Monday, tearing off the entrance door. The door is considered sacred and was to remain closed until the end of the world.
Ansar Dine says the shrines are idolatrous and have threatened to destroy any mosques housing the remains of the ancient saints.
When asked about the outpouring of anger and emotion over the destruction of the mausolea, Ansar Dine spokesman Sanda Ould Boumama said, “It is Islam which is good,”.”God is unique. All of this is haram (forbidden in Islam). We are all Muslims. UNESCO is what?” Boumama said.
He said the group was acting in the name of God and would “destroy every mausoleum in the city. All of them, without exception”.
The Islamist fighters from Ansar Dine are among the Al-Qaeda linked armed groups which occupied the north of Mali in the chaos that emerged after the March coup in Bamako.
On Sunday, International Criminal Court prosecutor Fatou Bensouda warned the perpetrators that destruction of such sites constituted a war crime.
“My message to those involved in these criminal acts is clear: stop the destruction of the religious buildings now,” the ICC Prosecutor told AFP.
Bensouda said that Mali was signatory to the Rome Statute which established the ICC. Article 8 of the statute states that deliberate attacks against undefended civilian buildings which are not military objectives constitute a war crime.
“This includes attacks against historical monuments as well as destruction of buildings dedicated to religion,” said Bensouda.
United Nations Secretary-General 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.”
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.”
For further information, please see:
The Australian – Destruction of Mali Tombs a War Crime – 3 July 2012
Al Jazeera – ICC Threatens Mali Islamists with War Crimes – 2 July 2012
All Africa – Liberia: Is Setting Up a War Crimes Court in Liberia Timely? – 2 July 2012
Voice of America – Mali Says Rebel Tomb Desecration a War Crime – 2 July 2012
The Telegraph – Timbuktu Shrine Destruction ‘a war crime’ – 2 July 2012
Capital FM News – Timbuktu Shrine Destruction a ‘war crime’: ICC – 2 July 2012
Channel News Asia – Timbuktu Shrine Destruction a ‘war crime’: ICC Prosecutor – 2 July 2012
