Rebel apologizes for wrecking Timbuktu shrines

A former rebel admitted wrecking holy shrines during Mali’s 2012 conflict and apologized at the start of his trial at the International Criminal Court on Monday – its first case to focus on cultural destruction as a war crime. Mahdi asked for forgiveness and said he had been swept up in an “evil wave” by […]

A former rebel admitted wrecking holy shrines during Mali’s 2012 conflict and apologized at the start of his trial at the International Criminal Court on Monday – its first case to focus on cultural destruction as a war crime.
Mahdi asked for forgiveness and said he had been swept up in an “evil wave” by Al Qaeda and the Ansar Dine groups which briefly seized control of Timbuktu during the fighting.
Prosecutors said they hoped the case would help put an end to wrecking of cultural sites reported in wars from Libya in the west to Afghanistan in the east.