Via AFP:

Islamists have destroyed the tomb of a Muslim saint in a northern Mali region under their control, two months after similar incidents in the region brought widespread condemnation, sources said Monday.

“The Islamists on Saturday destroyed the mausoleum of Cheik El-Kebir, 330 kilometres from Gao,” a local politician told AFP on condition of anonymity. “Twelve of them arrived at the site. They demolished the mausoleum with hammers, picks.” The sources said the Islamist militant Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO) was responsible for the destruction.

“Today in Gao, the Islamists boasted about the destruction of the mausoleum of Cheikh El-Kebir. They said they had smashed the mausoleum on Saturday, a town leader who would not give his name told AFP. “This is a crime,” he added.

Oumar Ould Gaddy, a Gao resident who is believed to be close to MUJAO, confirmed the reports.

“Cheik El-Kebir’s mausoleum north of Gao was destroyed. That’s true,” he said. “The Islamists have confirmed this. There is another mausoleum which they will also destroy soon.” Kebir’s tomb is venerated by the Kunta tribe whose members live in Mali, Algeria, Mauritania and Niger.