Battle of Timbuktu Malians to retreat to avoid further fratricide. At 1 am, the French bombarded Jihadist positions, leading them to retreat. The jihadists returned to the offensive the next morning, but after an hour of fighting, and after 2 failed suicide attacks, they retreated. The attack was later claimed by MOJAO, but the French claimed that AQIM participated as well. Eight Malians were wounded and 1 killed, with the French giving estimates of 5 to 11 Jihadist killed. Battle of Timbuktu The Battle of Timbuktu occurred in Timbuktu, Mali, in March 2013, between Islamist groups and Mali government forces supported by France.
History of Timbuktu desertification. In its Golden Age, the town's numerous Islamic scholars and extensive trading network made possible an important book trade: together with the campuses of the Sankore Madrasah, an Islamic university, this established Timbuktu as a scholarly centre in Africa. Several notable historic writers, such as Shabeni and Leo Africanus, have described Timbuktu. These stories fueled speculation in Europe, where the city's reputation shifted from being extremely rich to being mysterious. This reputation overshadows the town itself in modern times, to the point where it is best known in Western culture as an expression for a distant or outlandish place.