The 12th century Umayyad Mosque in Aleppo, which was destroyed in the heavy shelling in April.
Damascus: All six of Syria’s world heritage sites have been put on an endangered list by the UN’s cultural organisation amid mounting international concern about the country’s increasingly destructive civil war.
Unesco’s world heritage committee made the decision on Thursday at its annual meeting in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh despite objections from Syria.
It said Syria’s “exceptional archaeological and historical heritage” had not escaped the ravages of a conflict that has killed almost 93,000 and prompted 1.6 million refugees to flee the country.
The historic northern city of Aleppo had been particularly badly hit, Unesco said. The city’s medieval souk was severely damaged by fire last year and in April a minaret on 12th century Umayyad mosque was destroyed.
More destruction is feared in the coming days as President Bashar Al Assad forces are expected to launch a fresh assault on rebel-held areas.
But endangered sites on the updated list also include the ancient city in Damascus. The centre of Syria capital has been relatively unscathed by the conflict despite a series of bomb attacks and bitter conflict in the city’s suburbs.
Unesco agreed that “due to the armed conflict situation in Syria, the conditions are no longer present to ensure the conservation and protection of the outstanding universal value of the six world heritage properties located in the Syrian Arab Republic and that they are threatened by a specific and proven imminent danger”.
Karim Hendili, Unesco’s programme specialist on Arab heritage, said: “The decision to put all six sites on the endangered list is not something that is taken lightly. It is an international recognition of the seriousness of the threat to Syria’s heritage.”
He pointed out at the time of the committee’s last annual meeting the level of threat to Syria heritage was still uncertain. “Last year there was not enough information to be sure,” he said.
“We have to cross check everything, we can’t just take it for granted because it’s on the internet. It is important to be fair to both parties and the heritage itself.”
During this year’s meeting Syria’s ambassador to Unesco, Lamia Chakkour, acknowledged damage done to Aleppo, but argued against placing all six sites on the danger list.
A report to the committee by Syria blamed much of the damage on looters without acknowledging the destruction caused by government forces.
In Palmyra, one of the six sites, heavy lifting equipment was used to convert Roman ruins into road barriers, Syria said. Unesco’s report to the committee noted that Syria’s version of events did “not necessarily reflect the actual situation”.
Guardian News
