Yemeni War Leads to Massive Destruction of Cultural Heritage
http://hyperallergic.com/209933/yemeni-war-leads-to-massive-destruction-of-cultural-heritage/In the past few months, a deadly civil war in Yemen between the Saudi Arabia-backed government and Houthi militants has claimed the lives of nearly 2,000 civilians and led to the state’s collapse. But as with other current conflicts in the region, it’s not just the country’s future that’s at risk, but also its past.
On the night of May 11, a Saudi-led coalition of Arab states bombed the historic section of the Yemeni capital Sana’a, which has recently become a stronghold for Houthi rebels. Restored by UNESCO in the late 1980s, the World Heritage Site has been inhabited for more than 2,500 years and contains more than 6,000 houses, hammams, and mosques built before the 11th century CE. It’s one of four World Heritage sites at risk in Yemen, along with 10 more that have been on UNESCO’s tentative list since 2002.
The coalition also carried out airstrikes in the Old City of Saa’dah, partially destroying the 1,100-year-old Al-Hadi Mosque — the oldest Islamic learning center in the Arabian Peninsula. It also attacked the ancient walled city of Barakish.
“I condemn these destructions and I call on all parties to keep cultural heritage out of the conflict,” UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova said in a statement that asked those fighting to respect international treaties, particularly the 1954 UNESCO Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and the 1972 World Heritage Convention. “I am particularly distressed by the news concerning air strikes on heavily populated areas such as the cities of Sana’a and Saa’dah,” she continued. “In addition to causing terrible human suffering, these attacks are destroying Yemen’s unique cultural heritage, which is the repository of people’s identity, history, and memory, and an exceptional testimony to the achievements of the Islamic civilization.”
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