World heritage site in Mali featuring elaborate pre-Islamic structures is placed on danger list amid fears it cannot be protected in face of regional unrest

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

A world heritage site in central Mali that features elaborate pre-Islamic mud houses is in danger of deteriorating because it cannot be protected adequately in the face of insecurity, according to Unesco.

The Old Towns of Djenné includes four archeological sites with nearly 2,000 houses whose decorative facades have remained intact since the 3rd century BC. The buildings are among the most famous in Mali, a country that also boasts the ancient town of Timbuktu.

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The world heritage committee said insecurity was preventing measures to safeguard the site against the deterioration of construction materials, urbanisation and erosion.

Mali faces a threat from Islamist militants, as well as volatile separatist politics in the north.

Edmond Moukala, head of Unesco world heritage in Africa, said concerns were raised when a team visiting the site this year found signs of deterioration.

“The Malian government is coping with a lot of challenges,” he said.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A group of children studying the Koran outside a large earthen mud house, in Djenné. Photograph: Francois Xavier Marit/AFP/Getty Images

“What is needed right now is to ensure that institutions are in place and receive financial support.”

A force led by French troops intervened in 2013 to drive back militants who had hijacked an ethnic Tuareg uprising and seized Timbuktu and other towns in the north.

In 2012 militants linked to al–Qaida destroyed ancient shrines and tombs in the world heritage site at Timbuktu.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The largest mud-brick building in the world, the Grand Mosque, is located in the ancient town of Djenné. Photograph: Nic Bothma/EPA

Violence flared this week as the army opened fire on protesters in the northern city of Gao who opposed an interim authority intended to maintain stability in the desert region.

Djenné, a market centre and link in the trans-Saharan gold trade, was added to the world heritage list in 1988.

Timbuktu and an ancient tomb in Gao have been on the list of sites in danger since 2012. The 49 properties on the list include archeological sites in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.