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26.04.2012 Africa

Timbuktu under partial control of new armed group

By AFP
People arrive in Bamako from the northern city of Timbuktu on April 4.  By Issouf Sanogo AFPFilePeople arrive in Bamako from the northern city of Timbuktu on April 4. By Issouf Sanogo (AFP/File)
26.04.2012 LISTEN

BAMAKO (AFP) - Mali's remote desert city of Timbuktu fell under the control of a new armed group Thursday made up of Arabs who claim to be neither rebels nor Islamists, sources told AFP.

About 100 members of the National Liberation Front of Azawad, created this month, seized control of entries to the east and south of the ancient city, security and rebel sources said. The entries in the north and west remained under the control of the Islamist group Ansar Dine and Tuareg group the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad.

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