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
History of Timbuktu was forced to move to Marrakesh because of his intellectual opposition to the "Pasha", where he continued to attract the attention of the scholarly world. Ahmad Baba later returned to Timbuktu, where he died in 1608. The city's decline continued, with the increasing trans-atlantic trade routes – transporting African slaves, including leaders and scholars of Timbuktu – marginalising Timbuktu's role as a trade and scholarly center. While initially controlling the Morocco – Timbuktu trade routes, Morocco soon cut its ties with the Arma and the grip of the numerous subsequent "pashas" on the city began losing its strength: Tuareg temporarily