Al-Mahdi,an ethnic Tuareg who prosecutors say belong to the Ansar Dine militant grouo,an ally of Al Qeada in the Islamic Maghreb is the first person to be charged with destroying cultural artifacts by the court.He destroyed the irreparable damage to Africa's cultural heritage by destroying religious sites in the ancient city of Timbuktu during the 2012 conflict in Mali.Ahmad al-faqi al-Mahdi,a former trainee teacher,had led and personally taken part in the attacks on nine mausoleums amd mosques in the city with pick-axes and crowbars,said Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court {ICC}.At the hearing,prosecutors must convince judges,led Kenya's Joyce Aluoch,that they have marshaled sufficient evidence to justify a full trial.The ICC has been examining events in Mali since 2012,when Tuareg rebels seized part of the north,imposing a strict interpretation of Islamic law.French and Malian troops pushed them back the following year.Timbuktu was a trading hub and spiritual center by the 14th century,playing a key role in the spread of Islam across the continent.The Mausoleums of those scholars remain important pilgrimage sites.Bensouda said Al-Mahdi,known to his followers as a religious scholar,had helped plan and lead the attacks,implementing rullings of the Islamic Tribunal set up by the rebels occupying Mali.Most of the associates with whom he had planned the attacks were now dead,she said.More photos below. 
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