IOF aggression damages Yemeni National Museum, Sanaa appeals to UNESCO
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The Yemeni authorities urge UNESCO to protect the country's endangered cultural heritage amid Israeli impunity.
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The National Museum of Yemen, Sanaa, August 21, 2013 (Wikimedia Commons)
The General Authority for Antiquities and Museums in Sanaa has directed an urgent distress call to UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, pleading for the protection of Yemen's historical and cultural sites from Israeli attacks, after the latest Israeli aggression spared not even the country's national museum.
In a statement, the authority said that "Zionist raids on Sanaa have caused severe damage to the National Museum, threatening the precious archaeological collections it houses."
It described the National Museum, situated in the historic Dar al-Sa'adah since the mid-20th century, as "one of the most prominent symbols of Yemen's national identity," containing thousands of artifacts that represent a part of "our shared human heritage."
The authority called on UNESCO to urgently intervene to protect Yemen's cultural heritage, citing the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, with UNESCO's capacity as the primary guarantor of its implementation.
Human heritage must be protected
The General Authority for Antiquities and Museums condemned these attacks as "criminal", having targeted a significant cultural and humanitarian landmark in Yemen, and called on the international community to document these acts as violations against human heritage to ensure that perpetrators are held accountable.
It emphasized that protecting Yemen's cultural heritage is tantamount to safeguarding humanity's collective memory, while expressing its hope for an immediate response to this appeal from UNESCO and the international community.
The museum sustained damage as a result of the Israeli aggression on Sanaa and al-Jawf province earlier today, which targeted civilian areas and led to the martyrdom of dozens of people while injuring others.
According to initial figures released by the Yemeni Health Ministry, the aggression against civilians and civilian infrastructure resulted in 35 fatalities and left 131 people wounded.
Our correspondent reported that the assault on Sanaa struck a medical station for the health sector on al-Sitteen Street, located southwest of the city, in addition to hitting the headquarters of the Moral Guidance Department at the Ministry of Defense in the capital's central al-Tahrir neighborhood, not to mention an attack on the HQs of two local newspapers.
