Syria reclaims 6,000 antiquities looted by Takfiris
Syrian authorities have reclaimed 6,000 antiquities looted by terrorist groups and smuggled out of the country, an archaeology official says.
Ahmad Deeb, who heads Syria’s General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums (GDAM), said the items include 69 antiquities and eight mosaic panels retrieved from neighboring Lebanon, the country’s official news agency SANA reported on Friday.
Deeb added that the GDAM has taken a number of steps to protect the country’s artifacts from robbery or destruction by terrorists such as emptying and closing museums in militant-controlled areas and moving their antiquities to safe places.
Damascus said the move to safeguard most of the museums’ movable items is aimed at avoiding the repetition of what took place in Iraq after the ouster of former dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003, when Iraqi museums were plundered of treasures.
GDAM has also provided international organizations such as the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) with photos and documents of looted items, calling on them to cooperate with Damascus in efforts to reclaim all the country’s artifacts trafficked by terrorists abroad.
Last December, UNESCO called on the UN to curb multi-billion dollar artifact trafficking from Syria and neighboring Iraq, where the ISIL Takfiri terrorists have destroyed archaeological sites.
Thousands of antiquities have been plundered or smuggled outside Syria since a foreign-backed crisis erupted in the country some four years ago. According to the UN, Takfiri terrorists have already destroyed or damaged over 300 Syrian historical sites.
Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. More than 220,000 people have reportedly been killed and millions displaced so far due to the crisis in the country.
The Geneva-based Internal Displacement Monitoring Center (IDMC) released a report on May 6, saying one million more people in Syria were forced from their homes last year, bringing the total number of Syrians who are internally displaced to 7.6 million, or 40 percent of the population.
CAH/MKA/HMV
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