Restoration of monuments destroyed by war on Syria needs 25 years
Hundreds of thousands of historic Syrian monuments have been stolen and cannot be tracked down in location or numbers since the war on Syria started.
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A view showing the Tetrapylon, one of the most famous monuments in the ancient city of Palmyra, in Homs Governorate, Syria, April 1, 2016 (Reuters)
It will take Syria almost 25 years to restore the destroyed or damaged historic monuments resulting from the war on the country, Nazir Awad, the head of the Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums of Syria, told Sputnik.
"It is impossible to assess the losses to Syria's ancient heritage during the war, but we can say that it may take over 25-30 years to restore what was destroyed by the war in places of archaeological heritage. It can last even longer if an unfair economic blockade, the migration of the qualified workforce, and the economic weakening of the government and the people continue," Awad stated.
Since not all historic monuments at some point were under the control of the Syrian government, hundreds or thousands were smuggled from Syria. It is impossible to track these looted monuments or their accurate number, according to the official.
Read more: Al Mayadeen Net follows up on the Turkish mafias' theft of Syrian antiquities
The US-led war on Syria started in 2011. Looters have had almost 12 years to steal monuments and smuggle them out of the country.
Even with Russia's help to restore Syria's heritage sites, all six UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Syria suffered tremendously from the war.
The heritage sites are Palmyra, the Krak des Chevaliers castle, the Dead Cities between Aleppo and Idlib, Bosra, medieval buildings in Aleppo, and the ancient city of Damascus.
