Battle of Timbuktu Battle of Timbuktu The Battle of Timbuktu occurred in Timbuktu, Mali, in March 2013, between Islamist groups and Mali government forces supported by France. On the night of March 20 to 21, a group of Islamist militants tried to infiltrate the airport. A car with armed men also tried to break into the city, however, French and Malian forces pushed them back. The city of Timbuktu was guarded by the Malian army while about 150 French soldiers guarded the airport. Then, about 50 to 100 islamists launched an attack from Bamba, west of Bourem, at March 20 at 10:19 pm.
Timbuktu Manuscripts book, "The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu" by Joshua Hammer, provides vivid details about the collection of the manuscripts into libraries, and subsequent efforts to remove them to safety during the dangerous conflict, in which the Islamist jihadis threatened to destroy them. In 2017, Charlie English published "The Storied City : The Quest for Timbuktu and the Fantastic Mission to Save Its Past" which tells in alternating chapters the history of European expeditions (1795 – 1860) in search of the mystical city and the Herculean rescue efforts undertaken by Haidara and others to save the manuscripts from destruction by the jihadis