A Malian army truck filled with crates containing manuscripts enters the courtyard of the Ahmed Baba Institute for Higher Islamic Studies and Research in Timbuktu.

The Malian military government on Monday started returning home the ancient manuscripts of Timbuktu, which were spirited out of their fabled northern city when it was occupied by al-Qaida-linked militants more than a decade ago.

Islamic radicals destroyed more than 4,000 ancient manuscripts after they seized Timbuktu in 2012, according to the findings of a United Nations expert mission.

They also destroyed nine mausoleums and a mosque’s door — all but one of the buildings on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Diahara Touré, Timbuktu’s deputy mayor, said the ancient documents are important to the local people as they "reflect our civilization and spiritual and intellectual heritage.”

The first batch of the manuscripts were brought to Timbuktu by plane from the capital of Bamako, authorities said, adding that the return was necessary to protect them from the threats of Bamako’s humidity.

The majority of the documents dating back to the 13th century — more than 27,000 — were saved by the devotion of the Timbuktu library’s Malian custodians, who carried them out of the occupied city in rice sacks, on donkey carts, by motorcycle, by boat and four-wheel drive vehicles.

The shipment consisted of more than 200 crates and weighed some 5.5 tons.

The rest would be shipped later, officials said.

About 706 kilometers (439 miles) from Bamako, Timbuktu sits on the edge of the Sahara desert and has a dry climate.

For years, the local municipal and religious authorities have asked for the return of the manuscripts.

In February, the military government made a commitment to return the manuscripts, according to Bouréma Kansaye, the Malian Minister of Higher Education.

He described them as as “legacy that bears witness to the intellectual greatness and crossroads of civilization” of the city of Timbuktu — “a bridge between the past and the future.”

The manuscripts, which UNESCO has designated as part of the World Cultural Heritage, cover a myriad subjects, from Islamic theology and jurisprudence, astronomy, medicine, mathematics, history, and geography.

They are a testimony to the rich cultural heritage of the Mali and Songhai empires in West Africa.

Mali, along with neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger, has for more than a decade battled an insurgency fought by armed groups, including some allied with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group.

Following two military coups, the ruling junta expelled Western soldiers and instead turned to Russia for security assistance.

Still, 13 years after the occupation of Timbuktu, the security situation in Mali remains precarious and analysts say it has worsened in recent months.

Although the city is back under government control, militants continue attacking its surroundings, including as recently as last month.