Syrian president says UNESCO should take part in reconstruction of Palmyra

DAMASCUS, March 20. /TASS/. UNESCO should take part in the reconstruction of the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, which has been severely damaged by Islamic State militants, as it is international heritage and the "whole world should be worried" about its future, Syrian President Bashar Assad said in an interview with Russian journalists on Monday. "I think it's not only about Syria and Russia; it's about the UNESCO, it's about the other institutions, and it's about other countries that they always claim that they are worried about the human heritage and human culture," he said, adding that something of what has been destroyed still can be repaired. Militants of the Islamic State terror group (outlawed in Russia) captured Palmyra in May 2015. In late March 2016, the Syrian military supported by Russian aircraft liberated the city, but last December, Palmyra was again in the hands of extremists. On March 2, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin that the operation to liberate the city had been completed. On March 10, Russia’s General Staff said that the first detachment of nearly 200 Russian sappers arrived in Palmyra. Militants of the Islamic State terrorist grouping (outlawed in Russia) seized Palmyra in May 2015 and in late March 2016 the Syrian government troops liberated the city with the support of the Russian air task force. Russian combat engineers worked for six weeks in Palmyra where they defused mines first in the city’s historical part and then its residential quarters. They cleared 825 hectares of the territory, 8,500 buildings and structures and neutralized about 18,000 explosives. However, extremists recaptured Palmyra in December 2016 to be liberated again in March 2017. In 2017, the Russian defense ministry commissioned two units of field engineers to clear the city of mines planted by Islamic State militants. Read more