MALI, 3 February, 2021 (TON): For the first time since 2012, when the rebels captured the fabled Malian city, a commercial flight landed in Timbuktu on Monday.

With this move, a new link for local airline Sky Mali is launched.

The flight carried a delegation including two ministers, the plane landed after making the 700-kilometer (435-mile) journey from the capital Bamako via the central city Mopti in two hours.

However, the people who travel on the same route or along the river still face attacks from the terror groups.

Owned by Emirati investment firm Al Sayegh Group, Sky Mali plans two Bamako-Timbuktu flights per week with stopovers in Mopti.

It has already set up links to Kayes on the Senegalese border and Gao in Mali's north since its founding last July.

The attacks and inter-ethnic fighting have roiled northern Mali for years, spreading southward into the country's center as well as across its borders.

Some controversial groups occupied Timbuktu in 2012, an ancient city was known until then for its treasured historic Islamic manuscripts and as an exotic destination for tourists from all over the world.

The tombs of 333 "Muslim saints" in the city are believed by locals to offer protection and have earned it the status of a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Some places were partially destroyed by the rebel group, but UNESCO helped in rebuilding them.

The condition in the area has not yet resolved, therefore, the tourist trade has not returned to Timbuktu.