Malian rebels besiege Timbuktu

After seizing the strategic northern Mali towns of Kidal and Gao, Tuareg rebels today began besieging the ancient city of Timbuktu, taking their fight for a homeland for the nomadic people to the last major government holdout in the north.

Residents contacted by telephone said they were cowering inside their homes as blasts from heavy arms and automatic gunfire crackled around the renowned Islamic intellectual centre where demoralised soldiers are fleeing.