Islamic State advancing on ancient Palmyra in Syria
BEIRUT – Islamic State forces are closing in on the ruins of the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria, authorities said Wednesday, drawing alarm worldwide about the fate of one of the world’s most spectacular architectural treasures.
Islamic State fighters, some using tunnels, have entered the city of Tadmur adjoining the ruins, said Maamoun Abdulkarim, Syria’s general director of antiquities and museums. Syrian army units, he said, are fighting to stop the extremists from entering the sprawling archaeological site, known for its majestic colonnades from the Roman era, stone roads and ancient burial site.
“There are solitary elements with light weapons who infiltrated some areas. They are trying to spread into the city,” Abdulkarim said in a telephone interview. “The large numbers have yet to come in, and we are asking for the international community to stop those people.”
He called for U.S.-led coalition airstrikes on Islamic State convoys approaching the archaeological site, a stunning collection of ruins that rise from the desert in what was a crucial trade hub, caravan stop and prosperous metropolis in ancient times.
Before the Syrian war, Palmyra was a major tourist attraction, drawing visitors from around the world to the isolated site about 130 miles northeast of Damascus, the capital.
Syria and neighboring Iraq have long been the crossroads of civilization and are home to many significant historic sites and ancient ruins.
Irina Bokova, who heads the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, said she was “deeply concerned” about reports of armed conflict near the UNESCO World Heritage site.
The Syrian state news broadcaster quoted a military source who said the “armed forces were stationed at the entrances and points leading into the city of Tadmur” and were directing “concentrated fire on the gatherings of terrorists who had sneaked into the city’s neighborhoods.”
According to another account from the town, Islamic State fighters seized the northern sector of Tadmur while Syrian forces had taken up positions near the archaeological park.
However, Islamic State representatives said on Twitter late Wednesday that all of Tadmur had been taken and that Syrian forces had retreated to the adjacent ruins. Efforts to reach security personnel in the area for comment were unsuccessful.
The army is thinly stretched, fighting rebel forces on many fronts.
Islamic State, an al-Qaida breakaway faction that adheres to a fundamentalist interpretation of Islam, has made a point of destroying pre-Islamic ruins, statues and relics, labeling them as idolatrous, and reveling in the shock value and outrage caused worldwide by the wanton destruction.
The group has posted video online of its adherents taking sledgehammers to fabled sites, such as Iraq’s ancient cities of Hatra and Nimrud, just as it has disseminated images of beheadings and mass killings.
As rebels advanced on many fronts, Syrian authorities have moved many statues and other priceless objects to safety, including items from Palmyra. But not everything can be taken away.