SAINT PETERSBURG (Russia): The UN cultural body Unesco watched in horror on Saturday as Mali extremists ravaged shrines in the fabled city of Timbuktu which it had listed as endangered sites just days earlier.

The main watchdog for protecting some of history’s greatest treasures interrupted its annual meeting being held in Russia’s cultural capital to draw global attention to news filtering in from the ancient African town.

“This is tragic news for us all and even more so for the inhabitants of Timbuktu who have cherished and preserved this monument over more than seven centuries,” Unesco session chairwoman Yeleonor Mitrofanova told the gathering.

“I appeal to all those engaged in the conflict in Timbuktu to exercise their responsibility — for the sake of future generations, spare the legacy of their past,” she pleaded.

The Paris-based agency’s general director Irina Bokova said she could confirm that militants had already destroyed three sacred tombs in a town also known as the “City of 333 Saints”.—AFP