Mali Islamist surrendered to ICC

Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi, also known as Abu Tourab, arrived shortly before dawn on Saturday in the Netherlands, where he was handed over to officials of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

"Mr. Al Faqi is suspected, according to an ICC arrest warrant issued on 18 September 2015, of war crimes allegedly committed in Timbuktu, Mali, between about 30 June 2012 and 10 July 2012, through intentionally directing attacks against buildings dedicated to religion and/or historical monuments," the ICC said in a statement.

Al Faqi headed the Ansar Dine, a Tuareg group linked to the al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), which took control of parts of northern Mali in 2012. Al Faqi was an "active personality in the context of the occupation of Timbuktu," the ICC said in its statement.

In 2012, Ansar Dine militants destroyed 15 historic mausoleums in Timbuktu, an intellectual, economic and cultural center in the 15th and 16th centuries. According to the ICC, Al Faqi was responsible in destroying 10 buildings, including nine mausoleums and a mosque.

Al Faqi was "criminally responsible for having committed, individually and jointly with others, facilitated or otherwise contributed to the commission of war crimes," linked to the destruction of the buildings," the ICC wrote.

The Islamist is the first person in the international court's history to be tried for the destruction of heritage buildings. He is also the first case to be brought for the unrest in Mali.

mg/sms (AFP, AP, dpa)