- Title: YEMEN-HERITAGE SITES Yemenis fear for future of heritage sites
- Date: 3rd June 2015
- Summary: SANAA, YEMEN (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF THE OLD CITY OF SANAA, A UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WALKING IN THE OLD CITY BUILDING IN THE OLD CITY VARIOUS OF CRACKS AND DAMAGE TO THE WALLS AND BUILDINGS OF THE OLD CITY AS A RESULT OF THE AIRSTRIKES PEOPLE WALKING IN THE OLD CITY (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SANAA RESIDENT,TAHA HUSSEIN AL-BSHARI, SAYING: "The damage
- Embargoed: 18th June 2015 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Yemen
- Country: Yemen
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA4JI9UJSLMX1XCTMDDZHPM0ZUP
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: They may have already survived centuries of history, but Yemenis fear their most treasured cultural and historic heritage sites are becoming the latest casualties in the country's ongoing civil war.
In the capital Sanaa, home to one of the world's oldest cities and a designated UNESCO world heritage site, shockwaves from nearby airstrikes and direct hits have left cracks and damage to many ancient structures.
"The damage that has taken place is a result of the shockwaves resulting from the intense airstrikes on Noqum Mountain that we felt here (in the old city) that forced doors off their hinges and shattered windows and shook the houses fiercely," said Sanaa resident Taha Hussein al-Bshari.
"These are very old houses and they are part of our heritage and they can't withstand such shocks," he added.
Sanaa's densely packed and intricately designed stone, brick and gypsum structures are under threat from the bombings.
"The airstrikes on (arms depots) on Noqum mountain led to secondary shells landing on houses in the old city that sent women and children fleeing and shattered glass windows and cracked the walls of the homes," said Sanaa resident Ahmed Ali al-Houthi.
On March 26, Saudi Arabia and its Sunni Arab allies launched a massive air offensive on Yemen with the aim of ousting Iran-allied Shi'ite rebels from towns and cities they have seized in recent months.
The consequences to historical sites across the country have been devastating.
Air strikes on the Houthi rebels 'northern stronghold of Saada by the Saudi-led alliance partly razed the city's 1,200-year old Hadi Mosque, the oldest seat of Shi'ite learning in the Arabian Peninsula.
Ancient stucco buildings in the medieval coffee-trading port of Zabid on the Red Sea lie in ruins.
On May 13, UNESCO, the United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, issued a statement warning the airstrikes 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."
The Ottoman fort of white stone on a mountaintop overlooking the central city of Taiz has been pounded repeatedly after the Iran-allied fighters set up base there.
"The fort should not have been targeted. It's a historical fort and should have been spared the airstrikes but the Houthi forces and gangs and Uffash (a reference to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh) turned it into a military barracks to strike and target civilians," said Taiz resident Mubarak Mohammed Ahmed.
Almost 2000 people have died in more than 10 weeks of fighting while a near-blockade has cut off food and medical supplies, sparking a humanitarian crisis. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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