Russia bombs protected archeological areas where impoverished war refugee families are hiding
Russia's offensive in support of the Syrian government has managed to do what seemed impossible: It's made life even more dangerous for many Syrians. These are people in areas controlled by rebels who want to cast off the four-decade rule of the Assad family.
Abdel Rahman al-Yehiya is an archaeologist in Syria's rebel-held province of Idlib. He's long since severed ties with the government antiquities ministry, which he says is corrupt, and committed himself to preservation work in rebel-held areas.
Until a week ago, Yehiya thought the Assad regime was on its last legs, that it wasn't strong enough to go on the offensive anymore. But now, with Russian air support, government forces have been launching ground attacks into rebel-held areas in the neighboring province.
Yehiya accuses the Russians of striking a World Heritage Site popularly known as the Dead Cities, where impoverished, displaced families have taken shelter in hopes that the ancient archaeological ruins, dating back nearly 2,000 years, will be spared the bombardments.
Read more
http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2015/10/08/446833239/for-syrians-in-rebel-areas-russian-airstrikes-add-to-their-misery
= new reply since forum marked as read
