Fall of Timbuktu (2012) Fall of Timbuktu (2012) The Fall of Timbuktu took place during the war in northern Mali. This is one of the first clashes between the MNLA and Ansar Dine. On June 13, 2012, at approximately 10:00 am, an MNLA vehicle arrived at a station at the south-eastern entrance of Timbuktu City, on the Goundam Road. A quarrel started between the separatist fighters and Islamists who guarded the post, with the terrorists demanding that the men of the MNLA to lay down their weapons, which they refuse. Fighting the erupted. An Ansar Dine commander stated that "MNLA defeated elements wanted to
Timbuktu be a resource for Islamic research. On 30 March 2013, jihadist rebels infiltrated into Timbuktu nine days before a suicide bombing on a Malian army checkpoint at the international airport killing a soldier. Fighting lasted until 1 April, when French warplanes helped Malian ground forces chase the remaining rebels out of the city center. Tales of Timbuktu's fabulous wealth helped prompt European exploration of the west coast of Africa. Among the most famous descriptions of Timbuktu are those of Leo Africanus and Shabeni. Perhaps most famous among the accounts written about Timbuktu is that by Leo Africanus. Born El Hasan