UNESCO condemns destruction of ancient Iraqi city of Hatra

PARIS

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has condemned the destruction of the ancient Iraqi city of Hatra by Daesh militants.

UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova and Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri, director general of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), made a joint statement on Saturday.

"UNESCO and ISESCO are fully mobilized to respond to this emergency and stand ready to assist the Iraqi authorities in any possible way," Bokova and Altwaijri said. "The destruction of Hatra marks a turning point in the appalling strategy of cultural cleansing underway in Iraq."

Hatra, a large fortified city under the influence of the Parthian Empire, was the capital of the first Arab k‎ingdom ‎and bears the roots of Islamic Arab cities.

"This is a direct attack against the history of Islamic Arab cities and it confirms the role of destruction of heritage in the propaganda of extremists groups," they added.

The statement also said that cultural heritage has been the target of intentional destruction, with the aim of erasing the history of the country and thus undermining the peaceful coexistence of diverse communities.

Daesh (the Arabic acronym for ISIL) controls parts of Iraq and Syria, where it has declared a so-called caliphate after taking control of Iraq’s second-largest city in June 2014.