Islamists Burn Ancient Manuscripts After the French-Mali Capture of Timbuktu by Corran Nolan

In another strike against the Al-Qaeda insurgents in Northern Mali, French and Mali forces have captured their strongholds in Timbuktu and Gao. The allied French-Mali forces have taken the airport in Timbuktu, and are working towards control of the town. Though the rebels put up no resistance toward the forces, they did set fire to the Ahmed Baba institute; the newly constructed building containing thousands of priceless manuscripts. The operation is led by French special forces, and is backed up by French aircraft, which allowed the joint forces to take control of the northern part of the Niger River, often referred to as the "Niger Bend." They also gained control of Gao, the most heavily populated city in Northern Mali, on Saturday.



This article is important because it informs the rest of the world of the progress made against terrorism and terrorists in Mali, as well as providing insight for people who could be affected by these actions. The author is biased a little bit, using words like "regained" to describe the offensive in Mali. The main idea of this article is to show the audience that the joint operation is making head-way in freeing Mali from the terrorist threat.

Source: http://worldcrunch.com/world-affairs/french-mali-forces-capture-timbuktu-fleeing-islamists-burn-ancient-manuscripts/al-qaeda-offensive-army-stronghold-ahmed-baba/c1s10762/#.UQdFgr_O0X4