Syria’s Palmyra in peril as IS seizes ancient city
22 May 2015 6:57 AM IST
Islamic State group jihadists seized full control of the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra on Thursday, putting the world heritage site and its priceless artefacts at risk of destruction.
The ransacking of Palmyra, a 2,000-year-old former stopping point for caravans on the Silk Road, would be “an enormous loss to humanity,” UNESCO head Irina Bokova warned.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said IS now controlled half of all territory in the war-torn country. The capture of Palmyra is the latest blow to efforts to hold back the advancing jihadists, following the fall of Iraq’s Ramadi.
“IS fighters are in all parts of Tadmur, including near the archeological site,” Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP, using the Arabic name for the city.
Syrian state media said loyalist troops withdrew after “a large number of IS terrorists entered the city”.
In an online statement, IS proclaimed its capture of the entire city, which is strategically located at the crossroads of key highways leading west to Damascus and Homs, and east to Iraq. The Observatory, which relies on a network of sources on the ground, said some residents had headed to the city of <g data-gr-id="32">Homs</g> but others stayed home, while state media said most of Palmyra’s civilians had been evacuated.
IS also seized Palmyra’s prison, notorious for the killings of hundreds of regime prisoners in the 1980s and seen as a symbol of oppression during the reign of President Bashar al-Assad’s father Hafez al-Assad.
The jihadists, notorious for demolishing archaeological treasures since declaring a “caliphate” last year straddling Iraq and Syria, fought their way into Palmyra on foot after breaking through in the city’s north. Known in Syria as “the pearl of the desert,” Palmyra is home to colonnaded alleys, elaborately decorated tombs, and ancient Greco-Roman ruins.
“At the end of the day, it’s the birthplace of human civilisation. It belongs to the whole of humanity and I think everyone today should be worried about what is happening,” Bokova said.
The jihadists sparked international outrage this year when they blew up the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud and smashed artefacts in the museum of Mosul, both in Iraq.
Before Syria’s conflict began in March 2011, more than 150,000 tourists visited Palmyra every year.
Unesco calls for saving Palmyra heritage site
Following reports that the Islamic State militants have infiltrated the Palmyra world heritage site, where <g data-gr-id="46">fight</g> is going on, the Unesco on Thursday called for an immediate end to hostilities in Syria's ancient city. "I am deeply concerned by the situation at the site of Palmyra. The fight is putting at risk one of the most significant sites in the Middle-East, and its civilian population," said Unesco director-general Irina Bokova in a statement. "I call on the international community to do everything in its power to protect the affected civilian population and safeguard the unique cultural heritage of Palmyra," she added.
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