Reconstruction of Timbuktu mausoleums begins

Paris (AFP) - Masons in Timbuktu on Friday began rebuilding precious mausoleums that were destroyed by Islamist guerillas when they controlled the Malian city before a French intervention, the UN cultural body said.

Al-Qaeda-linked militants destroyed 15 of the northern city's mausoleums, important buildings that date back to the golden age of Timbuktu as an economic, intellectual and spiritual centre in the 15th and 16th centuries, UNESCO reported in June last year.

The UN body said on Friday that the reconstruction was due to last one month, and would be carried out by a local group of masons.

"The rehabilitation of the cultural heritage of Timbuktu is crucial for the people of Mali, for the city's residents and for the world," said UNESCO head Irina Bokova.

"The name of Timbuktu sparks the imagination of millions of people in all parts of the planet."

The reconstruction project is being financed by Mali and UNESCO, along with help from several countries such as Bahrain and Croatia.

Timbuktu is also renowned for its collection of precious manuscripts, some of which date back to the pre-Islamic era, and UNESCO estimates that around 4,200 of these were burned when the Islamist militants were in control.

French troops were deployed to Mali in January last year to halt an Islamist advance on the capital Bamako, and pushed the militants back into desert and mountain hideouts.