al-Qaeda Jihadist Ahmad al-Faqi Pleads Guilty Of Destroying City Of Timbuktu

Across the world destroying of cultural artifacts is considered as a war crime. The International Criminal Court has long ago announced it clearly.

Jihadist Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi has been found guilty of one such act. He pleaded guilty on Monday. He had destroyed the ancient city of Timbuktu in Mali.

Mahdi, also known as Abou Tourab, said he is accepting the judgment of the chamber. Earlier this year in March, he was charged for the attacks conducted between June and July 2012.

Last September prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said, “Such attacks affect humanity as a whole. We must stand up to the destruction and defacing of our common heritage.”

Believed to be a member of the al Qaeda-affiliated Ansar Dine in Mali, Mahdi oversaw ransacking of the UNESCO World Heritage site. He could now face a maximum sentence of thirty years.

Mahdi said, “It is also my hope that the years I will spend in prison will be source to purge the evil spirit that took me and I will keep my hopes high that the people will be able to forgive me.”

He added Muslims should not get involved in such acts that he had been as it does no good to humanity.

He and his team destroyed the tombs of city of Timbuktu using pickaxes and iron bars.

The tombs of historic religious figures housed documents from Middle Ages. Timbuktu was founded in the 5th century. By 15th and 16th centuries it was center of Islamic learning and helped in spreading Islam across Africa.