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             UN: War Is Ripping Syria's Cultural Heritage to Shreds

   by VOA News

   United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says war is ripping
   Syria's rich cultural heritage to shreds.
   In a joint statement with U.N. cultural chief Irina Bokova and special
   representative Lakhdar Brahimi, Ban said Wednesday that World Heritage
   sites in Syria have suffered considerable and sometimes irreversible
   damage.
   Some sites have been turned into battlegrounds, including the ancient
   city of Palmyra, a 5,000-year-old palace near Aleppo, and
   1,500-year-old Saint Simeon Church.
   The officials say looting and illegal trafficking of cultural objects
   are at unprecedented levels.
   The statement says both Christian and Muslim sites are under attack. It
   says destroying such precious heritage gravely affects Syria's identity
   and history and all humanity.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/un-war-ripping-syrias-cultural-herita
   ge-to-shreds/1870086.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/un-war-ripping-syrias-cultural-heritage-to-shreds/1870086.html