Topic: Timbuktu
Top galleries, list articles, quizzes
-
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?
All Content
-
The men who would save Mali's manuscripts
Islamist militants in Timbuktu destroyed graves and shrines associated with Sufism this year. Ancient manuscripts are not directly threatened, but some fear they are next.
-
Moving Mali forward
Mali was turned upside down last spring as armed groups overran the north and the military toppled the president. For some, crisis is a wake-up call, offering Malians a chance to create a new path.
-
Focus
Will Mali be Africa's Afghanistan?Mali was hit by two successive shocks to its system this year – with the north seized by rebels and a coup in the capital – leaving its government fragile and the international community mulling intervention.
-
With Paul Ryan, Romney brings Wisconsin into play. But it's no sure bet. (+video)
Adding Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin to the GOP ticket makes that state competitive, but it's no guarantee that Romney-Ryan will win it. A closer race in Wisconsin, though, will force Team Obama to spend time and money there.
-
In Mauritanian refugee camp, Mali's Tuaregs regroup
At Mbera refugee camp in Mauritania, 100,000 mainly Tuareg refugees from Mali regroup as Tuareg separatists and Islamist militants battle it out for control of northern Mali.
-
Briefing
Turmoil in Mali: Is it another Somalia?Islamists hijacked a long-running Tuareg rebellion in Mali and have turned the north into a strict Islamist state. Here are four key questions about where things might go from here.
-
African Union gets a South African leader, lending the group heft
Observers hope that the long-deadlocked African Union will wield more influence with the economic and political power of South Africa behind it.
-
Chapter & Verse
Heinrich Barth: the greatest explorer you've never heard ofWriter Steve Kemper tackles Barth in the first biography in English about the explorer who ventured into Islamic Africa.
-
Keep Calm
Good Reads: How South Sudan was born, how journalism must changeThis week's best pieces include a stunning series on the men and women who helped South Sudan gain independence, how India duped the world, and what journalism's central goal should (still) be.
-
Terrorism & Security
Mali Islamists vow to destroy 'every mausoleum' in TimbuktuAnsar Dine, the Islamist group that controls Mali's north, destroyed historic tombs and damaged a mosque this weekend, saying the religious landmarks constitute idolatry.
-
Keep Calm
Islamists destroy Timbuktu heritage sites: Why are these targets?Ansar Dine, the Islamist militia that shares control of Mali's north, is just the latest in long line of zealots of many faiths who destroyed the monuments of other faiths thought to be superstitious.
-
Again: Islamists destroy monuments, this time in Timbuktu
Al Qaeda-backed Islamists in Mali destroyed centuries-old UNESCO sites Saturday, recalling the 2001 destruction of Buddha statues in Afghanistan by the Taliban.
-
Once a stopover, Mali town becomes frontline destination for displaced people
The town of Sévaré sits along Mali's de facto border with a region now controlled by Tuareg separatists. At a camp there, displaced people speak cautiously about why they fled.
-
Rebel alliances strengthen in Mali's north, rattling neighboring countries
The northern two-thirds of Mali is now under control of Tuareg and Islamist rebels who want to redraw national boundaries and export revolution. Displaced minorities tell of brutality.
-
Mob assaults Mali's president, calling peace deal into question
Mali's interim president, Dioncounda Traore, has been taken to the hospital, unconscious, after pro-military junta protesters broke into the presidential palace. Will a ECOWAS peace deal hold?
-
Keep Calm
West African group mulls intervention in MaliECOWAS, a West African regional group, reimposes sanctions and considers military intervention after Mali's coup leaders renege on promise to cede power to civilian rulers.
-
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?
-
Mali arrests kidnap suspects, Al Qaeda releases pictures of victims
While Al Qaeda is showing signs of waning in southern and western Asia, Al Qaeda-related groups continue to make their presence felt across the African Sahel region.
-
Global News Blog
Good Reads: Qaddafi's African mercenaries, Tripoli's water, and Mexican gangsToday's must reads include an interview with a mercenary in Timbuktu; Qaddafi's control of water pipelines; and how a US government policy to arm Mexican gangs may have backfired.
-
Five myths about Africa
Matt Damon, listen up: After five years of covering Africa, our departing correspondent tells how his perceptions have changed about a complex continent, including why some Africans resent celebrity visits.
-
Change Agent
Five little-known vegetables that could help end hungerNative vegetables such as guar, Dogon shallot, and celosia could play an important role in feeding Africa.
-
Africa Monitor
West Africa Rising: Libya war boosting Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb?Despite US training and support, West African nations have been unable to stamp out the terrorist group and the upheaval in Libya may be bolstering the group's arsenal.
-
Africa Monitor
Five possible solutions for kidnappings in Africa's Sahel regionKidnappings in Africa's Sahel region in recent years present policy makers with a tough question: what is the best way to deal with and prevent kidnappings by Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb?
-
Africa Monitor
Is it better to pay a ransom for hostages, or stage a rescue?The Sahel region of Africa has seen many hostage crises in recent years, staged by a local branch of Al Qaeda, and hostages' home countries have had to make difficult decisions.
-
Niger kidnappings show Al Qaeda group getting bolder
Niger kidnappings: The assailants made their way through streets patrolled by 350 soldiers, past the gate of a secure residential area and the security guards standing in front of the foreigners' homes.
Become part of the Monitor community