In Timbuktu, historic mausoleums destroyed by extremists have been rebuilt

In Timbuktu, local stone masons have rebuilt 14 mausoleums that were destroyed by Islamist extremists.

The mausoleums were shrines to the city's founding fathers, considered saints by most residents, the BBC reports. Militants who occupied northern Mali in 2012 viewed this as blasphemy, and they destroyed dozens of mausoleums and mosques and burned thousands of old manuscripts from the time when Timbuktu was considered the center of Islamic study. The extremists were forced out in early 2013, and about a year ago, UNESCO began to work with masons who used traditional building methods to reconstruct the mausoleums.

At a dedication ceremony over the weekend, UNESCO's Irina Bokova told the masons, "Your work is a lesson in tolerance, dialogue, and peace...it is an answer to all extremists whose echo can be heard well beyond the borders of Mali." The entire city of Timbuktu is a world heritage site, and Bokova said she would like to see those responsible for the damage brought before the International Criminal Court. Under the UN's 1954 Hague Convention, the destruction is considered a war crime.

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