Thirteen years ago, Abdoulaye Cissé risked his life to smuggle tens of thousands of fragile manuscripts out of Timbuktu as al-Qaida -linked extremists swept into the desert town. “It was dark, but we ...

The majority of the documents dating back to the 13th century — more than 27,000 — were saved by the devotion of the Timbuktu library’s Malian custodians, who carried them out of the occupied city in ...

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — The Malian military government on Monday started returning home the historic manuscripts of Timbuktu, which were spirited out of their fabled northern city when it was occupied by ...

Members of the Malian government return boxes containing ancient Timbuktu manuscripts to the community elders in Timbuktu, Mali, Monday, Aug. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Moulaye Sayah) BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — The ...