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Syria heritage site ablaze as fighting rages
Source: Agencies |
September 30, 2012, Sunday
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HUNDREDS of shops were burning in the ancient covered market of the Old City of Aleppo yesterday as fighting between rebels and state forces in Syria's largest city threatened to destroy a UNESCO world heritage site.
The uprising-turned-civil war that is now raging across Syria has killed more than 30,000 people, according to activist groups like the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
But beyond the human cost, many of Syria's historic treasures have also fallen victim to an 18-month-old conflict that has reduced parts of cities to ruins.
Rebels fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad announced a new offensive in Aleppo, Syria's commercial hub of 2.5 million people, on Thursday, but neither side has appeared to have made significant gains.
In Aleppo, activists speaking via Skype said army snipers were making it difficult to approach the Souk al-Madina, the medieval market of vaulted stone alleyways and carved wooden facades that was once a major tourist attraction.
Videos uploaded to YouTube showed black clouds hanging over the city.
Activists said the fire might have been started by heavy shelling and gunfire on Friday and estimated that 700 to 1,000 shops had been destroyed. Accounts are difficult to verify because the government restricts access to foreign media.
Aleppo's Old City is one of several locations in Syria declared world heritage sites by UNESCO, the United Nations cultural agency, that are now at risk.
UNESCO said five of Syria's six heritage sites - which also include the ancient desert city of Palmyra, the Crac des Chevaliers crusader fortress and parts of old Damascus - have been affected.
The British-based Observatory, which has a network of activists across Syria, said Assad's forces and rebels were blaming each other for the blaze.
Activists also reported heavy clashes at Bab Antakya, a stone gateway to Aleppo's old city, which sits on ancient trade routes and has survived a parade of rulers throughout its construction between the 12th and 17th century.
Rebels said they had taken control of the gate, but some activists said the fighting there was continuing.
"No one is actually making gains here, it is just fighting and more fighting, and terrified people are fleeing," said an activist contacted by telephone who declined to be named.
By yesterday noon, 40 people had been killed in fighting across Syria, according to the Observatory.
The bloodshed in Syria has escalated since rebels took their fight to the major cities. Activists reported fresh clashes in the capital Damascus and its suburbs and said security forces were torching homes as helicopters buzzed overhead.
The uprising-turned-civil war that is now raging across Syria has killed more than 30,000 people, according to activist groups like the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
But beyond the human cost, many of Syria's historic treasures have also fallen victim to an 18-month-old conflict that has reduced parts of cities to ruins.
Rebels fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad announced a new offensive in Aleppo, Syria's commercial hub of 2.5 million people, on Thursday, but neither side has appeared to have made significant gains.
In Aleppo, activists speaking via Skype said army snipers were making it difficult to approach the Souk al-Madina, the medieval market of vaulted stone alleyways and carved wooden facades that was once a major tourist attraction.
Videos uploaded to YouTube showed black clouds hanging over the city.
Activists said the fire might have been started by heavy shelling and gunfire on Friday and estimated that 700 to 1,000 shops had been destroyed. Accounts are difficult to verify because the government restricts access to foreign media.
Aleppo's Old City is one of several locations in Syria declared world heritage sites by UNESCO, the United Nations cultural agency, that are now at risk.
UNESCO said five of Syria's six heritage sites - which also include the ancient desert city of Palmyra, the Crac des Chevaliers crusader fortress and parts of old Damascus - have been affected.
The British-based Observatory, which has a network of activists across Syria, said Assad's forces and rebels were blaming each other for the blaze.
Activists also reported heavy clashes at Bab Antakya, a stone gateway to Aleppo's old city, which sits on ancient trade routes and has survived a parade of rulers throughout its construction between the 12th and 17th century.
Rebels said they had taken control of the gate, but some activists said the fighting there was continuing.
"No one is actually making gains here, it is just fighting and more fighting, and terrified people are fleeing," said an activist contacted by telephone who declined to be named.
By yesterday noon, 40 people had been killed in fighting across Syria, according to the Observatory.
The bloodshed in Syria has escalated since rebels took their fight to the major cities. Activists reported fresh clashes in the capital Damascus and its suburbs and said security forces were torching homes as helicopters buzzed overhead.
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