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| Deadly crush at Timbuktu mosque | Deadly crush at Timbuktu mosque |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Sixteen people, mostly women and children, have been killed in a crush at the famous Djinguereber mosque in Timbuktu, sources have told the BBC. | Sixteen people, mostly women and children, have been killed in a crush at the famous Djinguereber mosque in Timbuktu, sources have told the BBC. |
| The crush happened during the Mouloud festival to mark the birth of the Prophet Muhammad, when people walk around the mud mosque in northern Mali. | The crush happened during the Mouloud festival to mark the birth of the Prophet Muhammad, when people walk around the mud mosque in northern Mali. |
| The worshippers had to use a different path than usual because of renovations to the 14th Century building. | The worshippers had to use a different path than usual because of renovations to the 14th Century building. |
| Timbuktu, in the Sahara Desert, was once a centre of Islamic learning. | Timbuktu, in the Sahara Desert, was once a centre of Islamic learning. |
| One report says the crush happened when an elderly woman fell down while thousands of people were attempting to circle the mosque three times. | One report says the crush happened when an elderly woman fell down while thousands of people were attempting to circle the mosque three times. |
| Some 40 people were injured, the police say, according to Reuters news agency. | Some 40 people were injured, the police say, according to Reuters news agency. |
| "I lost my sister. She was 16 and had gone to pray," said local resident, Ali Kounta, reports the AFP news agency. | "I lost my sister. She was 16 and had gone to pray," said local resident, Ali Kounta, reports the AFP news agency. |
| The Djinguereber mosque is the largest in Timbuktu. | |
| The once wealthy city helped spread Islam across West Africa. | |
| Its fortunes declined after the 16th Century, as the region's main trade routes switched to the Atlantic Ocean, instead of the Sahara Desert. |