Nimrud (Iraq) (AFP) – The international community bewildered expects to see the first images irreparable damage from the Iraqi jihadists ancient city of Nimrud, a “war crime” on Friday denounced Unesco , which took the UN.
After cutting into pieces wealth centuries in the museum in Mosul (north) last week and set fire to his library, jihadist Islamic State Group (EI) entered Thursday with bulldozers in Nimrud, priceless archaeological treasure, the ministry of Iraqi tourism.
“It is still unclear the extent of the damage” inflicted on the multi-millennium city built on banks of the Tigris, about thirty miles southeast of Mosul, told AFP an official on condition of anonymity.
But Unesco has already denounced “a war crime” and called on “the whole of the international community” to “join forces” to “stop this disaster,” according to a statement of its Director General, Irina Bokova. She grabbed the UN Security Council and the International Criminal Court
She said “cultural cleansing raging in Iraq spares nothing and no one. It is human lives, minorities and is accompanied by the systematic destruction of the ancient heritage of humanity “.
For several weeks, the jihadists who control vast territories in Iraq and neighboring Syria, on which they reported a” Caliphate “and multiplied the worst abuses, methodically destroying the Iraqi heritage.
The EI justify such destruction, arguing that the statues promote idolatry. But according to several experts, “idols” so strongly denounced least disturb the jihadists when it comes to selling them on the black market.
These are too big to be transported easily statues that are destroyed, they argue
-. ‘Shocked’ -. “I’m really upset, but expected, now we expect the video It’s sad.”
says Abdelamir Hamdani, an Iraqi archaeologist at Stony Brook University in New York.
Last week, the jihadists had posted a video of the devastation of the museum in Mosul, Iraq’s second city they took the first days of their Iraqi offensive in early June 2014.
“Their project is to destroy the Iraqi heritage site by site (…) and Hatra, of course, is next on the list, “Mr. Hamdani, referring to a site – classified by Unesco. – famous for its temples mingling Roman influences, Greek and Oriental
Nimrud, the guards were prevented from reaching the site of the flagship city of the Assyrian Empire, which were exhumed in 1988 over 600 jewelery, precious stones and ornaments, one of the most important archaeological discoveries of the twentieth century.
Part of his precious reliefs and its colossal statues of winged bulls is exposed in the most prestigious museums in the world.
The international community has strongly criticized the destruction, but seems confined to the role observer as powerless to act on the territories dominated by the EI laments Stuart Gibson, an expert at Unesco.
“We have in the past urged local people to recognize the invaluable their heritage and the need to protect it, “says Gibson. “But unfortunately, at present, people are exhausted and terrified the rest of us have no choice but to sit there and watch in despair.”
-. Objective Tikrit –
Tiny ounce of hope for the Iraqi heritage still standing, the jihadists seem to lose ground under the combined pressure of Iraqi ground forces and the international coalition led by the United States in the air .
Army, police, militias and tribal fighters and continued their offensive around Tikrit, they intend to take to jihadists.
Located between Baghdad and Mosul, Tikrit, the birthplace of former President Saddam Hussein, is the second largest city in Iraq conquered by EI. With 30,000 people mobilized, the government offensive is presented as “the most massive” since taking the EI in June 2014 large parts of the country.
But the civilians are paying a heavy price, said UN Thursday. Nearly 28,000 people had to flee the city and its surroundings to protect the fighting. They are added to the 2.5 million people displaced by the advance of the jihadists in 2014.
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