Timbuktu: Back From the Brink

Troops are now protecting "crossroads of Africa."

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Crossroads of Africa - Located in Northern Mali, the ancient city of Timbuktu was once the crossroads of both the African continent and the Muslim world in the 15th and 16th centuries as scholars and pilgrims came to learn in the halls of its great mosques and to trade with other civilizations.  (Photo: REUTERS/Adama Diarra)
Historic Timbuktu in Danger - Islamist militants in Mali attacked one of the most famous mosques in Timbuktu just days after UNESCO named the city an endangered world heritage site.   (Photo: Adama Diarra /LANDOV)Situation Room - The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) committee on world heritage held a special session in 2012 to address the destruction of the world heritage site and is created a special fund to help Mali in the conservation of its cultural heritage. (Photo: AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky)

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Timbuktu in Danger - As the world clamored to save Mali's historic city of Timbuktu from Islamist rebels, troops from Mali and France launched an offensive, regaining control over the city and re-securing Timbuktu's fabled relics.(Photo: REUTERS/Joe Penney)

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