GDAM Director General: ISIS Planted Explosives in Palmyra Monuments

DAMASCUS, (ST) – Director of the General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums (GDAM) Mamoun Abdulkarim has asserted that preliminary information from the locals of Palmyra revealed that the terrorists of the so-called “Islamic State” (ISIS) have planted explosives inside the temples, archeological buildings and monuments of the historical city of Palmyra.

In a statement to SANA, Abdulkarim said “the new information is a source of worry due to a previous tragic experience with this terrorist organization in Iraq.”

He added that if what happened to the Iraqi artifacts is repeated in the ancient city of Palmyra it will cause huge loss and damage to one of the most important components of Syrian civilization.

“The terrorists’ crimes won’t eliminate the civilization but will damage and destroy part of this civilization,” Abdul Karim said.

He referred to the distinguished relation that link the people of Palmyra to their historical city, stressing that this relation is strong enough to form a resistant front to protect the antiquities.

“We hope that the local community in Palmyra, in addition to clans’ members, men of religion and cultural figures will play an effective role to prevent such  a crime to be committed against their heritage, identity and source of income, because Palmyra is an internationally recognized tourist city and exposing its monuments to damage will be an economic loss to the ancient city for generations to come.

Abdulkarim concluded by stressing that the people of Palmyra should protect their civilization and heritage and they need to organize a popular  campaign to prevent committing a crime against this historical city.

Rawaa Ghanam