Jihadis attack cultural heritage
Armed groups operating in Africa’s Sahel region are looting hundreds of cultural and archaeological sites in the same way as Isis did in Syria, experts have claimed.
Over the last few years, government forces have retreated from vast areas of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger after an onslaught of jihadist attacks.
As lawlessness has spread, armed groups – many allied to alqaeda and the Islamic Stat – have gained influence in an area the UN describes as ‘‘potentially one of the richest [cultural] regions in the world’’.
The Sahel boasts archaeological remains dating back to the Neolithic period. In medieval times, West African civilisation blossomed along the banks of the Niger river into myriad kingdoms and empires.
During the 13th century, the cities of Gao, Djenne and Timbuktu rose as great centres of trade and learning. Leaders grew fabulously wealthy from the gold and salt trade routes that crisscrossed the Sahara.
At a time when Europe was burning heretics at the stake, books became status symbols in the Malian Empire. Islamic scholars collected hundreds of thousands of manuscripts in libraries in the region, famously in Timbuktu.
But archaeological experts say that the region’s extraordinary heritage is now under attack. Museums, tombs and villages have been raided for antiquities, and photos show historical sites studded with newly dug holes.
Samuel Sidibe, director of Mali’s National Museum in Bamako, says: ‘‘It’s a disaster. Sites have been raided everywhere. We don’t know how many because we can’t get access to them. There are hundreds [of damaged sites] across the country. You cannot estimate the value of what’s being lost. This is our history. When that goes you have nothing to bind you.’’
Details on the theft of artefacts are scarce. There are countless sites of historical significance that are unmapped and unprotected, says Sidibe. One Western official told The Sunday Telegraph: ‘‘The armed groups and jihadists are not taking pictures of themselves [looting], like Islamic State did in Syria. But everyone assumes they are involved. It’s happening right across Mali and Burkina Faso,’’
Local villagers often know the whereabouts of historical sites. But as security in the Sahel continues to deteriorate, many are being forced by poverty, hunger or armed groups to excavate the antiquities. The artefacts – everything from statues and masks to jewellery and dinosaur bones – often end up in auction houses and private collections in Europe, China and America.
It is unclear how much money is being made from the trade but previous seizures of trafficked Sahelian antiquities in Europe have been valued at tens of millions of dollars. There are fears there could be an even bigger market in the Gulf states.
‘‘Objects are often passed around different countries before they reach the international market, which makes it difficult to build up a clear picture,’’ says Guiomar Alonso Cano at Unesco’s Office for West Africa and the Sahel. – Telegraph Group
‘‘It’s a disaster. Sites have been raided everywhere. We don’t know how many because we can’t get access to them.’’ Samuel Sidibe Mali’s National Museum