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Timbuktu takes stock of the damage left by rebels in the aftermath of its occupation by Islamist fighters
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A French flag hangs near a telephone pole on a street in Timbuktu January 31, 2013. REUTERS-Benoit Tessie
A French armored personnel carrier with soldiers patrols the area outside the Sankore Mosque, a world heritage site, in Timbuktu January 31, 2013. REUTERS-Benoit Tessie
A museum guard works around boxes which held ancient manuscripts which were partially damaged at the Ahmed Baba Institute, or Ahmed Baba Centre for Documentation and Research, in Timbuktu January 31, 2013. The majority of Timbuktu's ancient manuscripts appear to be safe and undamaged after the Saharan city's 10-month occupation by Islamist rebel fighters, experts said on Wednesday, rejecting some media reports of their widespread destruction. REUTERS-Benoit Tessie
A museum guard displays a burnt ancient manuscript in its box at the Ahmed Baba Institute, or Ahmed Baba Centre for Documentation and Research, in Timbuktu January 31, 2013. REUTERS-Benoit Tessie
A museum guard displays a burnt ancient manuscript at the Ahmed Baba Institute, or Ahmed Baba Centre for Documentation and Research, in Timbuktu January 31, 2013. REUTERS-Benoit Tessie
Fishing pirogues from Timbuktu region dock on shore to sell fish in Mopti January 31, 2013. REUTERS-Joe Penne
Women sort fish caught in the Timbuktu region at a port in Mopti January 31, 2013. REUTERS-Joe Penne
A Tuareg man holds a bullet near a destroyed vehicle belonging to Islamist rebels on the road between Diabaly and Timbuktu in Mali January 30, 2013. REUTERS-Benoit Tessie
The remains of weapons are pictured near a destroyed vehicle used by Islamist rebels on the road between Diabaly and Timbuktu in Mali January 30, 2013. REUTERS-Benoit Tessie
A destroyed vehicle used by Islamist rebels sits on a road between Diabaly and Timbuktu January 30, 2013. REUTERS-Benoit Tessie
A Malian soldier displays ammunition seized from Islamists rebels after their departure, in Timbuktu January 29, 2013. French troops have taken control of the airport in the northern Malian town of Kidal, the last rebel stronghold in the north, the French army and a local official told Reuters on Wednesday. Kidal would be the last of northern Mali's major towns to be retaken by French forces after they reached Gao and Timbuktu earlier this week in a campaign to drive al Qaeda-linked Islamists from Mali's north, which it has said had become a safe haven for extremists. REUTERS-Francois Rihoua
A man accused of having collaborated with al Qaeda-linked Islamists is surrounded by residents in front of the Islamic police office in Timbuktu January 29, 2013. REUTERS-Francois Rihoua
Boubacar Cisse, 25, a tour guide, smokes a cigarette as he poses in front of the former Islamic prison in Timbuktu January 29, 2013. Islamists rebels banned smoking in public when they were in control over the area. REUTERS-Francois Rihoua
Chadian soldiers hold their weapons at the airport of the recently recaptured town of Gao January 28, 2013. The troops are part of a larger African force known as AFISMA, which is due to send more than 8,000 soldiers to Mali to aid in the country's fight against Islamist militants. French and Malian troops retook the major Saharan trading towns of Gao and Timbuktu at the weekend. REUTERS-Adama Diarr