Syrian Ministry of Culture says US strikes damaged historic sites
The Syrian Ministry of Culture said the overnight US strikes damaged the historical sites in eastern Syria.
According to Britain’s Sky News, the Ministry of Culture of Syria issued a statement on its Facebook account to react to the recent US airstrike on Deir ez-zor Governorate, during which US fighter jets pounded some sites, including historical monuments.
Syrian Ministry of Culture condemns “in the strongest terms the barbaric US bombardment of the Al-Rahba fortress” in eastern Syria’s Mayadeen area.
In a statement on social media, it says the citadel, located along the Euphrates River, dates to the ninth century, without elaborating on the damage the site sustained.
The “blatant” attack violated “all international norms and charters that call for the protection and respect for cultural property,” the ministry added.
According to Syria’s Al-Watan newspaper, Director of the Historical and Archeological Buildings Department at the Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums (DGAM) Nazir Awad confirmed that bombardment late Friday caused cracks and fissures in the fortress walls.
The full extent of the damage had not yet been assessed, Al-Watan cited Awad as saying.
The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on Saturday that American fighter jets conducted airstrikes on 85 positions of resistance fighters both in Iraq and Syria.