Ribal Al-Assad horrified at Syrian heritage site damage
Tuesday, 23 December 2014
Satellite images show 290 heritage sites in Syria damaged by war: U.N.
REUTERS
Satellite imagery indicate that 290 cultural heritage sites in Syria, whose history stretches back to the dawn of civilization, have been damaged by its ongoing civil war, the United Nations' training and research arm (UNITAR) said on Tuesday.
Syria's heritage spans the great empires of the Middle East but cultural sites and buildings around the country, such as Aleppo's Umayyad Mosque, have been looted, damaged or destroyed in the three-year-old conflict.
Using commercially available satellite pictures, UNITAR found that 24 sites were completely destroyed, 189 severely or moderately damaged and a further 77 possibly damaged.
This is "an alarming testimony of the ongoing damage that is happening to Syria’s vast cultural heritage", UNITAR said in a new report.
"National and international efforts for the protection of these areas need to be scaled up in order to save as much as possible of this important heritage (for) humankind."
Clashes between President Bashar al-Assad's forces and rebels have damaged historical sites and buildings throughout Syria. Pillaging has threatened tombs in the desert town of Palmyra and Roman temples have been damaged.
The report documented widespread damage to cultural heritage sites including UNESCO World Heritage Sites, mostly in the northern city of Aleppo.
Both sides in the conflict have used ancient fortresses as military bases. The army has positioned snipers on Aleppo's Citadel, one of the oldest and largest castles in the world.
Insurgent forces also overran the 900-year-old Crac des Chevaliers Crusader castle. The army retook it in March but only after months of bombardment.
The satellite imagery also found that sites in Raqqa and the millennia-old oasis city of Palmyra have been exposed to major damage. The ancient city of Bosra and abandoned settlements from the Byzantine period in Syria's north have been damaged as well, according to UNITAR.
Radical Sunni Muslim insurgents have also destroyed ancient sites which they consider to be heretical.
Maamoun Abdulkarim, head of Syria's antiquities and museums, told Reuters last year that tens of thousands of artifacts spanning 10,000 years of history had been removed to specialist warehouses to avoid looting.
The United Nations says more than 200,000 people have been killed in Syria's conflict, which began in March 2011 with popular protests against Assad and spiraled into civil war after a violent crackdown by security forces.
Responding to the news, Ribal Al-Assad, Director of the ODFS said:
"I am absolutely horrified by the damage caused to these historic and culturally valuable sites.
Much of the damage is simply irreplaceable and it is a loss not only to the people of Syria but to the whole of mankind.
These images remind us of the need to bring about an immediate end to the conflict and close this dark chapter of Syrian history. It is absolutely devastating to think about what has been lost over the past few years; thousands dead, heritage destroyed and the beautiful mosaic of Syrian culture and community smashed to pieces.
As I have said time and time again, a dialogue driven diplomatic solution is the only answer; we need to urgently bring all those who have a genuine belief in freedom and democracy -and are willing to commit to it- to come around the table and work out a way forward with the assistance of the international community.
How many more lives have to be lost and how many more of these historic sites will be ruined before this action is taken?"