Mali rebels fleeing Timbuktu burn library full of ancient manuscriptsBackground on the Timbuktu manuscripts is here with many links. Note also the last two links here, at which I reflected on what might have been found in manuscripts such as these. Now we will never know.
Town's mayor says Islamist insurgents torched two buildings containing priceless books as French-led troops approached
Luke Harding in Sévaré
guardian.co.uk, Monday 28 January 2013 11.40 GMT
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Islamist insurgents retreating from the ancient Saharan city of Timbuktu have set fire to a library containing thousands of priceless ancient manuscripts, some dating back to the 13th century, in what the town's mayor described as a "devastating blow" to world heritage.
Hallé Ousmani Cissé told the Guardian that al-Qaida-allied fighters on Saturday torched two buildings where the manuscripts were being kept. They also burned down the town hall and governor's office, and shot dead a man who was celebrating the arrival of the French military.
French troops and the Malian army reached the gates of Timbuktu on Saturday and secured the town's airport. But they appear to have got there too late to save the leather-bound manuscripts, which were a unique record of sub-Saharan Africa's medieval history.
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UPDATE (29 January): Maybe not. See the important update to this post.