Sun Sep 30, 2012, 05:40 AM

Syrian fighting torches historic medieval market

Last edited Sun Sep 30, 2012, 05:48 AM USA/ET - Edit history (1)

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by Tx4obama (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: AP

A fire sparked by battles between Syrian President Bashar Assad's troops and rebel fighters tore through Aleppo's centuries-old covered market Saturday, burning wooden doors and scorching stone stalls and vaulted passageways. The souk is one of a half-dozen renowned cultural sites in the country that have become collateral damage in the civil war.

The damage to one of the best-preserved old souks in the Middle East was the worst yet to a UNESCO World Heritage site in Syria. Across the country, looters have broken into a historic castle, stolen artifacts from museums and damaged ruins in the ancient city of Palmyra, antiquities officials and Syrian experts say.

The Aleppo market, a major tourist attraction with its narrow stone alleys and stores selling perfume, fabrics and spices, had been the site of occasional gun battles and shelling for weeks. But amateur video posted Saturday showed wall-to-wall flames engulfing wooden doors as burning debris fell away from the storefronts. Activists said hundreds of shops were affected.

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57522998/syrian-fighting-torches-historic-medieval-market/?tag=contentAux;mostPopular

SOUK BEFORE THE FIRE

Aleppoa
UNESCO World Heritage site in Syria
BEFORE FIGHTING
http://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31&l=en&id_site=21&gallery=1&&maxrows=39

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Replies to this discussion thread

3 replies	Author	Time	Post
Syrian fighting torches historic medieval market (Original post)	littlemissmartypants	Sep 2012	OP
i think both sides of the civil war have more pressing things on their minds than avoiding damaging	loli phabay	Sep 2012	#1
It can be difficult.	Igel	Sep 2012	#2
Locking. LBN Dupe. News already posted in LBN. Please continue discussion on link below	Tx4obama	Sep 2012	#3

Response to littlemissmartypants (Original post)

Sun Sep 30, 2012, 06:10 AM

loli phabay (2,875 posts)

1. i think both sides of the civil war have more pressing things on their minds than avoiding damaging

buildings, not sure what you want the UN to do, i suppose send in infantry and armour to guard the sites.

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Response to loli phabay (Reply #1)

Sun Sep 30, 2012, 10:27 AM

Igel (17,557 posts)

2. It can be difficult.

The Crusader castle wasn't just looted. It was hit with artillery by the Syrian Army.

Of course, they weren't necessarily trying to hurt the castle. They were after the Free Syrian Army troops that decided to use the historical site as cover. Then the first press release was that the Syrian Army was destroying a major historical site and needed to be stopped. Most people accepted this. Then again, it just provided one more bit of confirmation for what they already believed, so it's actual value as evidence is moot.

It's hard to say that the site is worth more than the troops' lives. On the other hand, it's also hard to say that somebody, somewhere didn't realize ahead of time what would happen and knew it would be a nice, if short-lived, PR point.

Same with the souk. Same with Palmyra. Hard to know about the museum--insurgents need money, but so do poor people and greedy people, and all three groups tend to put their own immediate interests above that of the public or even posterity.

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Response to littlemissmartypants (Original post)

Sun Sep 30, 2012, 05:14 PM

Tx4obama (28,886 posts)

3. Locking. LBN Dupe. News already posted in LBN. Please continue discussion on link below

LBN thread here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014250472

p.s. Please consider posting your great photos on the thread on the link above

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