Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
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Damascus, SANA – The targeting of the historical Aleppo Citadel is a new crime added to the many previous ones committed by Takfiri terrorist organizations against the Syrian heritage and civilization, Lina Quteifan, chief of the department of the Syrian archaeological sites registered on the World Heritage List lamented on Sunday.
Terrorists in Aleppo city, located in northern Syria, blew up a tunnel in Old Aleppo near the fortress at midnight on Saturday, causing serious damage to its wall.
Quteifan explained in a statement to SANA that the terrorist bombing destroyed a part of the wall between two towers in the northeastern side of the citadel, quoting local sources in Aleppo city.
She said the seriousness of the damage could not be assessed right now by the Antiquities and Museums Department as the site is currently inaccessible because of the spread of terrorists there.
Quteifan noted that the main iron gate of the citadel, its main entrance and northern tower also sustained damage in terrorist shelling attacks in the past period.
Several landmark archeological sites in Aleppo, including historical markets and buildings, have been targeted by terrorists in the past few years.
Aleppo Citadel was listed, along with Old Aleppo, as a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO) in 1986. It lies on a hill that is 50 m above the city level, and its current shape dates back to the 12th century.
It is surrounded by a fence with 6 towers, and it overlooks markets, mosques and religious schools in Old Aleppo. It includes a mosque, a palace, a hammam (bathroom) and several buildings.
Qabas/ H. Said
