Fears as IS overruns ancient site Palmyra
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ISLAMIC State militants overran the famed archaeological site at Palmyra early yesterday, just hours after seizing the central Syrian town, activists and officials said, raising concerns the extremists might destroy some of the priceless ruins as they have done in neighboring Iraq.
The Islamic State’s capture of the town of Palmyra late Wednesday was a stunning triumph for the militant group, only days after it captured the strategic city of Ramadi in Iraq’s largest Sunni province.
As IS took Palmyra, Syrian soldiers were seen fleeing the area, activists said. In Damascus, state TV acknowledged that pro-government forces had withdrawn from the town.
Rami Abdurrahman of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the extremists overran the archaeological site, just to the southwest of the town itself, shortly after midnight Wednesday.
An activist in Homs who goes by the name of Bebars al-Talawy also confirmed that IS now controls the ruins at Palmyra.
Both said the militants had not damaged the site so far.
A Facebook page close to IS published a statement yesterday, purportedly from the group, saying “the soldiers of the Islamic State” completed their control of Palmyra as well as the town’s airport and prison. The capture came after government forces collapsed, “leaving large numbers of dead whose bodies filled the streets,” it said.
The ruins at Palmyra are one of the world’s most renowned historic sites and there are fears the extremists will destroy them as they did major archaeological sites in Iraq. The UNESCO world heritage site is famous for its 2,000-year-old towering Roman-era colonnades and other ruins and priceless artifacts. Before the war, thousands of tourists a year visited the desert outpost, a cherished landmark referred to by Syrians as the “Bride of the Desert.”
In Damascus, Maamoun Abdulkarim, head of the Antiquities and Museum Department, said Palmyra’s town museum had suffered “minor damages” during the IS onslaught.
“The city is now totally controlled by gunmen and its destiny is dark and dim,” warned Abdulkarim. “We are in a state of anticipation and fear” about what will happen.
Many Palmyra residents were fleeing the town toward the city of Homs and Damascus, according to Talal Barazi, the governor of the central province of Homs, which includes Palmyra.
The Syrian army is now outside the town, from where it is targeting Islamic State reinforcements, he added.
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