Syria is home to some of the oldest continuously inhabited settlements in the world, and contains cultural artifacts from numerous ancient empires. Amid the war in Syria archeologists worldwide have looked on in horror as terrorists looted and destroyed priceless artifacts in areas under their control.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry has condemned what it said were illegal excavation works by US, French, and Turkish troops as well as their local allies in areas of Syria under their control, including ancient sites at Manbij, Afrin, Idlib, Hasaka, and Raqqa.
The Foreign Ministry called on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to condemn the alleged violations and expose those who stand behind them.
During the war in Syria against Daesh (ISIS)*, archeologists, historians, and anthropologists were horrified by videos of terrorists attempting to destroy Palmyra, the former ancient capital of the Palmyrene Empire and one of the most prosperous cities of the Roman Empire. During its occupation, Daesh destroyed several UNESCO World Heritage sites, including the Arch of Triumph, the Temple of Baalshamin and the Temple of Bel. The destruction was accompanied by cruelty against the local population, including Khaled al-Asaad, the chief archeologist who cared for the city’s antiquities and who was executed in Palmyra’s Roman Amphitheatre. Russian military and civilian specialists have played an important rolein the work to restore the city. In August the governor of Homs said Palmyra should be ready to receive tourists by the summer of 2019.