Mali and UNESCO are to receive a 'Symbolic Euro' for Timbuktu Heritage Destruction

Context

The government of Mali and UNESCO are to receive a ‘Symbolic Euro’ from the International Criminal Court (ICC) as a gesture of its 2017 judgment over the destruction of the cultural site of Timbuktu by the religious extremists, in 2012.

About Timbuktu

• Timbuktu is a city in the West African country of Mali.
  • It is situated on the southern edge of the Sahara and North of the Niger River.
    
    
• It has been an important trading post on the trans-Saharan caravan route and has been a center of Islamic culture.
• The city was declared asa UNESCO World Heritage site in 1988.
• In 2012, due to the armed conflict in the region, Timbuktu was added to the UNESCO List of World Heritage in Danger.
• Architecture: It has famous Mosques of Djingareyber, Sankore, and SidiYahia, sixteen mausoleums, and holy public places.
  • The mosques are examples of earthen architectureand traditional maintenance techniques.