"The safety of Timbuktu’s manuscripts is less assured. As the rebels
descended on Timbuktu, Mali’s cultural authorities told the owners of
private libraries in the city to hide their wares. But not all of them
are safe. A big collection at the Ahmed Baba Institute of Higher
Learning and Islamic Research, which has 30,000 manuscripts, is under
threat. Ansar Dine has occupied it."
