Iran condemns destruction of Iraq historical sites
1 مارس، 2015
508 دقيقة واحدة
استمع
IRNA-MERNA YOUSRY
– Iran Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization condemned demolishing of historical sites by Daesh terrorist in Iraq.
In a statement, the organization described the action as an anti-cultural move and said the area in which the destruction acts are taking place are known as the ancient Mesopotamia and the cradle of human civilization.
It regretted that many of the destroyed historical objects in the area are registered by UNESCO as world cultural heritage belonging to the collective human being.
The organization also said that such acts by the Daesh terrorists undertaken in Iraq and Syria which also include the looting and smuggling of historical and ancient objects will be of irreparable consequences for the regional nations.
The statement termed the destruction of cultural and historical places in Iraq by Daesh as a catastrophic event and urged the international organizations especially the UNESCO to act according to their mission and try to stop such savage behaviours.
A video published on social media on Thursday showed Daesh terrorists breaking some statues with sledgehammers in Mosul Museum.
Last weekend, they also attacked and burned Mosul Library, home to some 8,000 historical manuscripts. In the library there were many hand-written books from the Ottoman, Abbasid and Ayyubid periods.
UNESCO has called on the UN Security Council to hold an urgent meeting on protecting Iraq’s cultural heritage.
Expressing shock over the footage, UNESCO said that among many pieces, seven large statues from its World Heritage site of Hatra, as well as unique artifacts from the archeological sites of Ninewah and the Palace of Sennahareb have been destroyed or defaced in Mosul Museum.
It said that the Daesh acts stood in direct violation of Security Council Resolution 2199 that condemns the destruction of cultural heritage and adopts legally-binding measures to counter illicit trafficking of antiquities and cultural objects from Iraq and Syria.
