Timbuktu鈥檚 priceless collection of ancient scientific texts is .
Ansar Dine, a Tuareg militia, occupies territory around . In recent weeks, the group has destroyed historic tombs in the town (see picture), which house the remains of Islamic Sufi saints and which Ansar Dine says are idolatrous.
鈥淲e know six or seven shrines have been attacked,鈥� , chief of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre鈥檚 Africa Unit, told 快猫短视频. 鈥淏ut there are many scientific documents at risk too, and no one can tell if they鈥檒l be safe.鈥�
Advertisement
UNESCO has accepted a request by the government of Mali to add Timbuktu to the list of heritage sites at risk of destruction.
Various sites in Timbuktu house a matchless collection of 300,000 ancient Islamic texts, some dating from the 13th century, which include treatises on science and mathematics. Among them are texts on the harmful effects of tobacco, on medicine as practised 300 years ago, and on astronomy.
One of UNESCO鈥檚 projects is to , many of which are currently kept in the town鈥檚 . They are among the most important historical texts in Africa.