University of Timbuktu the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), a terrorist group, took control of the city in 2012. They were forced out by French and Malian government troops the next year, but not before setting fire to two buildings housing many of the manuscripts, including the Ahmed Baba Institute. Most of the manuscripts had been removed and hidden before the AQIM takeover. University of Timbuktu The University of Timbuktu is a collective term for the teaching associated with three mosques in the city of Timbuktu in what is now Mali: the masajid (mosques) of Sankore, Djinguereber, and Sidi Yahya. It was not a university
Fall of Timbuktu (2012) gateway and that he was offered "50,000 CFA for repairs but I refused to take the money, saying that what they did is irreparable." In September 2012, Islamists destroyed the mausoleum of Cheik El-Kebir, located 330 kilometers from Gao. The tomb had been venerated by people of the Kunta tribe. Further destruction occurred with four mausoleums being razed on 23 December and an Ansar Dine official, Abou Dardar, being quoted by "Agence France-Presse" as saying that "not a single mausoleum will remain in Timbuktu." On 28 January 2013, as French-Malian troops captured Timbuktu Airport, the departing forces set fires within