UNESCO: Need for stopping illicit trafficking of Syrian cultural heritage

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MOSCOW, SANA- The UN Education, Science and Culture Organization (UNESCO) has said that its top priority is preventing illicit trafficking of Syrian cultural properties.

UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova told “Russia 24” Channel that “illicit trafficking of the Syrian cultural properties is one of the main sources of financing the terrorists in the country”.

This means that stopping this source of funding, along with the money (billions of dollars) the terrorists are getting by selling the Syrian oil and by drug and human trafficking, comes on top priorities of the international agenda, Bokovva added.

She said that “many documented incidents of unauthorized archeological excavations are being observed by satellite.”

Last February, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted resolution No.2199 providing for halting the funding obtained by of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Jabhat al-Nusra and other terrorist organizations through selling stolen oil
and antiquities and through ransoms.

The resolution calls for criminalizing all who buy the stolen oil from al-Qaeda-linked terrorist and extremist organizations and for judging them as colluding parties.

H. Zain/ Barry