THE HAGUE, Netherlands, Sept. 27 (UPI) -- The International Criminal Court sentenced a man Tuesday to nine years in prison for destroying historic Muslim shrines in Mali.
Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi, a member of the Malian al-Qaida offshoot Ansar Dine, pleaded guilty in August to leading the 2012 demolition of nine shrines built above tombs of venerated Muslim scholars and religious leaders in Timbuktu. Ansar Dine believed the shrines violated their strict Muslim legal code. Each of the small shrines, made of mud and stones, have since been rebuilt with the aid of foreign donors. French troops recaptured the area from Ansar Dine in 2013.