UN warns of crisis impact on Syria cultural heritage 

The UN cultural agency has warned that the crisis in Syria has a “lethal” impact on the country’s cultural heritage.

Assistant Director-General for Culture at the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Francesco Bandarin said on Wednesday that the conflict in Syria is “lethal” for cultural heritage as it has opened the door to illegal excavations in archaeological sites in the country.

The UN official added that this (illegal excavations) “has happened everywhere, all the sites in Syria, from the ancient Sumerian city of Mari to city of Ebla.”

He said that the cities of Mari and Ebla are two of 12 sites which are being considered for admission to the World Heritage List of UNESCO.

Bandarin also referred to the destruction of the site of Apamea on the Orontes River, saying it has been “completely destroyed” by “thousands and thousands of illegal diggings.”

“A site has a value not only for the monuments that are destroyed but also for the values of the objects in the ground,” Bandarin said.

“And when this is lost, the scientific value of the site is clearly, clearly compromised.”

The UN official praised measures taken by the Syrian government to preserve the country’s cultural artifacts, saying the majority of content from 34 national museums has been moved into safe havens.

“The damages to museums is less important than it would have been otherwise because of this preventive action, which of course we praise and consider very, very important,” Bandarin stated.

The country has been gripped by crisis since March 2011.

In September 2013, a British defense study conducted by IHS Jane’s showed that about 100,000 militants, fragmented into 1,000 groups, are operating against the Syrian government.