In this image taken on Saturday Feb. 2, 2013, Baba Ahmed, 26, AP's correspondent in Bamako, walks in his neighborhood in Timbuktu, Mali, days after it was liberated by French forces. In Baba Ahmed's own words, not a single light could be seen in my hometown of Timbuktu as we approached it at night just days after it was liberated from the al-Qaida-linked militants who ruled for nearly 10 months. The last time Baba had visited was in May, a month after the Islamic rebels seized Timbuktu. After my visit I covered my hometown's plight for The Associated Press from the distant capital of Bamako, straining for information over the telephone each week about what had become of this city I love.  (AP Photo/Harouna Traore)
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