Islamic State militants have reportedly begun looting and destroying artefacts from the ancient archaeological site of Hatra in Iraq - a move described as "cultural cleansing".
A Kurdish official said militants removed artefacts from Hatra on Thursday, and started destroying the Roman period ancient fortress city on Saturday.
He said people living near Hatra heard two large explosions on Saturday morning, and then reported seeing bulldozers move in.
Hatra is located 68 miles south-west of Iraq's second largest city Mosul and was declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 1985.
UNESCO director general Irina Bokova said: "The destruction of Hatra marks a turning point in the appalling strategy of cultural cleansing under way in Iraq."
The site, which was founded more than 2,000 years ago, is the second ancient city targeted by IS militants in recent days.
On Thursday, Iraqi officials said IS had "assaulted the historic city of Nimrud and bulldozed it with heavy vehicles".
UNESCO said the destruction of Nimrud "constitutes a war crime" and called on people around the world to protect "the heritage of the whole of humanity".
Nimrud is located on the Tigris River just south of Mosul, which was captured by IS in June.
The extremists, who control a third of Iraq and Syria, have attacked other archaeological and religious sites, claiming they encourage people to abandon Islam.
Speaking about the destruction at Nimrud, Abdulamir Hamdani, an Iraqi archaeologist from Stony Brook University, said: "I'm sorry to say everybody was expecting this.
"Their plan is to destroy Iraqi heritage, one site at a time."
Last week IS released a video showing militants armed with sledgehammers and jackhammers smashing priceless ancient artefacts at the Mosul museum.
The attack led to widespread condemnation, with some archaeologists and heritage experts comparing it with the 2001 demolition of the Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan by the Taliban.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Islamic State Demolishing Second Ancient Site
Dengan url
http://buangdwiet.blogspot.com/2015/03/islamic-state-demolishing-second.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Islamic State Demolishing Second Ancient Site
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Islamic State Demolishing Second Ancient Site
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar