Timbuktu Manuscripts Timbuktu Manuscripts Timbuktu Manuscripts (or Tombouctou Manuscripts) is a blanket term for the large number of historically important manuscripts that have been preserved for centuries in private households in Timbuktu, Mali. The collections include manuscripts about art, medicine, philosophy, and science, as well as copies of the Quran. The number of manuscripts in the collections has been estimated as high as 700,000. The manuscripts were written in Arabic and local languages like Songhay and Tamasheq. The dates of the manuscripts ranged between the late 13th and the early 20th centuries (i.e., from the Islamisation of the Mali Empire until the
Second Battle of Timbuktu A Malian soldier taking part in the fighting said, "The jihadists are a few. They sneaked into the military camp and the city of Timbuktu. There is shooting at the moment, but we'll get to the end." Timbuktu residents said as of that Sunday afternoon shooting could still be heard in the city. On Sunday morning, the Malian army launched operations to track down the infiltrated jihadists. By the mid-afternoon, heavy street-fighting left a Malian soldier and two jihadists dead. A French unit of around 50 soldiers were dispatched to reinforce the Malian army in Timbuktu, and got further back-up