Tens of thousands of ancient manuscripts rescued from Timbuktu in Mali during 2012 Islamist insurgency have now been safely returned after years of digitization.

Thirteen years ago, when al-Qaida-connected fighters swept into the city, staff and local families smuggled tens of thousands of manuscripts south to Bamako for safety.

Dr Mohamed Diagayaté, general director of the Ahmed Baba Institute, says: "What we find in these ancients manuscripts cannot be found anywhere else."

In display rooms and storage vaults, manuscripts sit open on tables and shelves.

Some survived fire damage during the 2012 insurgency, their edges charred but the writing still visible.

Others remain missing, noted only by labels marking empty spaces.

Among the manuscripts are medical texts, legal rulings, letters, astronomical notes and chronicles of West African empires.

Sane Chirfi Alpha is the founding member of SAVAMA DCI, which is a local nonprofit organization dedicated to the safeguarding, preservation, and promotion of the ancient Timbuktu manuscripts.

He says the collection reveals a depth of scholarship that challenges assumptions about the region's past.

But many manuscripts remain in family libraries across Timbuktu, preserved in traditional wooden chests.

Some families struggle financially, raising concerns about the risk of private sales.

Inside the institute, staff continue cataloguing, preserving and teaching.

The institute also trains new specialists.

Students review texts on screens and in classrooms, including 24-year-old Baylaly Mahamane.

Mahamane says: "When I become a manuscript specialist, I will be able to do many things that will benefit me and others."

As digitization, conservation and training continue, caretakers say the priority now is to secure this written record of West African history and ensure it remains accessible for the future.

AP video shot by Baba Ahmed