UNESCO vows to help rebuild Mali's cultural heritage
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The three great mosques of Timbuktu
UNESCO will spare no effort to help rebuild the mausoleums of Timbuktu and the tomb of Askia in Gao, says UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova.
The head of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization said UNESCO will do everything possible to safeguard and rebuild Mali's extraordinary cultural heritage, which she described as "a vital part of the country's identity and history and fundamental for its future."
UNESCO says it will send a mission, as soon as security permits, to undertake a complete evaluation of the damage and determine the most urgent needs, in order to finalize a plan of action, in cooperation with the Government of Mali that will guide reconstruction and rehabilitation.
Parts of Mali's cultural heritage were destroyed by an insurgency which began in January 2012.
French military intervention has put a halt to the destruction.
Gerry Adams, United Nations
Duration: 1’00″
