Al-Mahdi: Is It Too Late Now To Say Sorry… To Mankind?

At the opening of his trial for war crimes in The Hague, Ahmad al-Mahdi didn’t hold back his remorse. Not only did he apologize to Mali, but he also apologized to all of “mankind” for destroying the ancient religious monuments in Timbuktu. In total, al-Mahdi admitted to handling the destruction of a mosque, nine mausoleums and the shrines to some of the 333 saints that the city was once known for. These crimes went down back in 2012 when Timbuktu was under al-Qaeda control. Although this case breaks new ground for the ICC, some critics are annoyed that The Hague is trying people for destroying cultural landmarks instead of several cases of murder, rape and torture that also took place that year.