Turkey calls on UNESCO to protect historical monuments in Syria

Turkey has called on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to be more active in its protection of historical monuments in war-torn Syria. In his speech at the UNESCO General Assembly, Turkey's Permanent Representative Gurcan Balik stressed that UNESCO's role in Syria had become more important than ever before. Mentioning that the Syrian regime forces had recently attacked the historic Omayyad Mosque, a landmark 12th-century mosque in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, Balik stated that the developments in Syria have come to an intolerable point. The minaret of the Omayyad Mosque, which is located in the heart Aleppo's walled Old City, a UNESCO World Heritage site, was destroyed last week, leaving the once-soaring stone tower a pile of rubble and twisted metal scattered in the tiled courtyard. Stressing that hundreds of historic landmarks in Syria and places of worship for all religions have been destroyed or damaged by Syrian regime forces, Balik noted that the Syrian regime reportedly uses religious, cultural and historical sites for military purposes. "We urge the Syrian regime to respect its obligations under international humanitarian law with respect to the protection of historic monuments, works of art or places of worship," said Balik.