Topic: Timbuktu
Top galleries, list articles, quizzes
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A fabled city of the Sahara: How much do you know about Timbuktu?
Timbuktu has a reputation in Western society as a distant, mysterious city. But it is a real place, and is back in the news after Tuareg rebels seized the city and implemented sharia. Can you separate Timbuktu's myth from reality?
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Focus
In Mali, a war ends but instability lingersThe French drove out Islamist rebels in northern Mali. But can France and its African allies translate those victories into regional stability and peace?
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Global News Blog French in Mali face Islamist insurgency of unknown strength
Insurgent raids into Timbuktu and Gao in supposedly secured northern cities put a question mark over France's aspirations to wrap up its military intervention in Mali soon.
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Abou Zeid killed? Local Malians say it happened, but French not so sure
Abou Zeid killed: Sources in Mali that Al Qaeda commander Abdelhamid Abou Zeid was killed four days ago as French and Malian forces continued their pursuit of Islamist militants in the northern part of the country.
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The Monitor's View: In Timbuktu, Al Qaeda showed 'seeds of its decay'
A secret letter written by Al Qaeda's leader in north Africa during his 10-month rule of Timbuktu reveals the internal contradictions of jihadists that will end their appeal.
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Short trip to Timbuktu reveals long road ahead for Mali
Returning to his hometown, Issaka Nazoum invoked DeGaulle on the liberation of Paris: 'Timbuktu shattered, Timbuktu martyred, but Timbuktu liberated!' He knows, though, that Mali faces daunting hurdles.
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In Mali, two suicide bombings could indicate new wave of violence
Two suicide bombings, in nearly the same spot at a checkpoint outside of Gao, could indicate another wave of violence from Islamic militants in Mali. French and Malian troops had found industrial-strength explosives in the city earlier in the week.
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Africa Monitor Elections, ethnic tensions, and aid: Mali faces its future after the headlines
The world watched French troops summarily turn back rebel fighters in northern Mali, but the future remains grim for millions of Malians affected by the fighting, writes Alex Thurston.
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Amid talk of Mali exit, French forces find war in north still hot, not yet over
African and western nations looking for post-war structures: 'There will never, ever be a solution if you don't talk to the Tuaregs,' says Jeremy Keenan, British expert on East Africa.
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In Paris, first arrest of Islamist suspects since start of Mali war
Three of the four men arrested on Tuesday were Franco-Congolese and one was Malian, according to police sources.
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Opinion: A better way to keep Islamists at bay in Mali
France says it will withdraw from Mali once an African peacekeeping force is in place. To keep Islamists at bay, the US is considering increasing its military presence in the region. A better approach is to focus on fixing the governance issues that fuel radicalism to begin with.
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French out of Timbuktu by end of week, airstrikes continue (+video)
French forces will leave to subdue rebels in the north while Malian troops will handle security for the ancient crossroads town.
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French airstrikes wiping out Islamist arsenals in Mali
French troops bombarded arms and fuel depots in two northern cities of Mali after France's President Hollande wrapped up a triumphant visit to the country.
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Can Timbuktu stay pacified after Islamist rebels are run out?
With gun caches still to round up and ethnic rivalries to negotiate as thousands of residents return, can Timbuktu avoid spasms of 'vengeance'?
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Backchannels The French are winning handily in Mali
Enough with the facile Vietnam and Afghanistan analogies.
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Opinion: Conflict in Mali shows US needs greater engagement in Africa
While I am pleased at reports of US cooperation with France to stop Islamist extremists Mali and run them out of Timbuktu, I remain concerned about the interrelated, widespread threat of terror in the region. America cannot afford to treat it as compartmentalized country-by-country issue.
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Timbuktu residents say 'Thank you God' that rebel Islamists are gone (+video)
Under watch of French soldiers, inhabitants of the ancient crossroads city turn on the radio, and start to breathe the freer air.
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Mali war pulls France's Hollande out of polling slump (+video)
However, the first Socialist elected to French high office in decades still faces high unemployment and low growth.
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In Salafis wake, charred Malian heritage in Timbuktu
Shortly before being driven from Mali's ancient city of Timbuktu, the salafi jihadis who'd occupied the city lit a bonfire with some of its ancient manuscripts.
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French will 'quickly' exit Mali after mop up, leaving vacuum
After launching a full scale military intervention on Jan. 11, French forces in Mali faced little hard fighting and set to turn security over to African and local authorities.
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Terrorism & Security France rolls north in Mali, but daunting second phase looms (+video)
French troops entered the once Islamist-occupied city of Kidal today without opposition. But dealing with Islamist guerrillas and placating secular Taureg rebels will likely prove more difficult.
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In Timbuktu, a giant task of reconnecting a remote city to the world
Before they left, Islamists in northern Mali cut Internet and phone connections. Restoring them is just the first step toward piecing Mali back together.
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Terrorism & Security Mali: French bring the troops, world now bringing the funds (+video)
International donors have pledged $455.53 million for an international campaign tackling Islamist militants in Mali.
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In liberated Timbuktu, new rains begin to wash away harsh rule of rebels (+video)
After months of blasphemy laws, destruction of precious monuments, and brutal punishments, locals dance at arrival of French and nature's cloudbursts.
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Islamists burn ancient manuscripts in Mali's Timbuktu
Islamist extremists torched a library containing historic manuscripts in Timbuktu, the mayor said today, as French and Malian forces closed in on Mali's fabled desert city.
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French take airport at Timbuktu as Islamist forces disappear (+video)
The 12th-century iconic city of Islamic learning and trade is both strategic and symbolic. French forces are punching north into the area held for the past year by Islamist forces.
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