News Africa Deadly stampede in Mali mosque The deadly stampede happened as pilgrims circled around the ancient mosque [AFP] At least 26 people have been crushed to death and many more injured in a stampede at the main mosque in Mali's northwestern city of Timbuktu, officials and witnesses said. "There were 26 killed and 40 wounded," Oumar Sangare, the interior ministry spokesman, told the Reuters news agency by telephone on Friday. Mohamed Bandjougou, one of the witnesses, said: "People were circling the mosque, a ritual at each Mouloud (the observance of the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed) and there was a huge crowd build up."
Ali Kounta, another resident, said: "I lost my sister. She was 16 and had gone to pray." Thousands of pilgrims come to Timbuktu for the prophet's birthday and an official said the accident might have been caused by obstacles resulting from renovation work on the 14th-century mosque made largely from mud.
"The mosque is being renovated, financed by the Aga Khan, and the work is carried out by South African specialists," an official at Timbuktu town hall told AFP, asking not to be named.
"Because of these renovations, the passage on the north side of the mosque is closed off. On that side, to get through, the faithful found an improvised alleyway.
"But the alley couldn't take the number of people using it. So there was a stampede. Somebody shouted 'someone has died' and panic took over."
Two other officials said rescue services had "very quickly" helped the "many injured".
"We're in mourning. What happened is a real drama. We accept the will of God. He gives us life, he takes it away," said the mosque's imam, who gave his name as Asseyuti.
Timbuktu was famous for being an intellectual and religious centre during the 15th and 16th centuries, helping to spread Islam throughout Africa.
It remains synonymous in Europe with the idea of an exotic faraway land, but the town's historic buildings require constant renovation. Source: Agencies Topics in this article People
Mohamed Bandjougou
Ali Kounta Country
Mali City
Timbuktu
According to a government official, at least 26 people were killed in a stampede on Thursday at a historic mosque in the northwestern city of Timbuktu, Mali.

"There were 26 killed and 40 wounded," Oumar Sangare, the Internal Ministry spokesman, told Reuters. However, other news agency reports put the death toll as low as fifteen.

An official, who requested to remain anonymous, said the accident could have begun as a result of renovation work on the Djingareyber mosque—which is made primarily of mud, and was built in the fourteenth century. Construction work blocked off some of the roads, and that could have been a factor in the incident. "The mosque is being renovated, financed by the Aga Khan, and the work is carried out by South African specialists," the official told the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency.

"Because of these renovations, the passage on the north side of the mosque is closed off. On that side, to get through, the faithful found an improvised alleyway. But the alley couldn't take the number of people using it. So there was a stampede. Somebody shouted 'someone has died' and panic took over," the same official went on to say.

Others have remarked that rescue services responded "very quickly" to the stampede, and helped the "many injured."

The Xinhua news agency reports the stampede started when an elderly woman fell in one of the town streets near the city's main mosque, where a sermon was being conducted in front of a large crowd; a passersby then rushed to assist the woman, apparently disrupting the crowd's movement and causing the stampede.

"People were circling the mosque, a ritual at each Mouloud the observance of the Prophet Mohammed's birthday and there was a huge crowd build up," commented Mohamed Bandjougou, one of the witnesses to the event, to AFP by telephone. "There were at least fifteen dead. The bodies were taken to the morgue."

Authorities warned the number of injured may actually be higher than reported, saying that "we cannot rule out the fact that the number of those injured will increase because some of them are still hiding in their homes instead of coming to the hospital."  A hospital source commented that some of the people hurt were in critical condition, and needed to be evacuated to the capital, Bamako, as soon as possible.

The mosque's imam, who gave his name as Asseyuti, commented on the incident. "We're in mourning. What happened is a real trauma. We accept the will of God. He gives us life, he takes it away," he said.

According to an official statement, Malian president Amandou Toumani Toure is traveling to Timbuktu from Bamako in light of the stampede.