Post date: Oct 01, 2012 6:35:58 PM
PARIS, FRANCE (OCTOBER 1, 2012) (UNESCO) - The United Nations' Educational Social and Cultural Organisation on Monday (October 1) condemned damage to the vast historic market of Aleppo which is a world heritage site.
UNESCO condemns damage to the vast historic market of Aleppo, inscribed on the World Heritage list.
Veronique Dauge, the head of UNESCO's Arab States Unit, called on Syria to respect its heritage, saying the country was a signatory to the various conventions that protect historic sites in times of conflict.
"The market in Aleppo, you have to know, is really the heart of the city and the heart of the life of the city since centuries. The whole, the entire city of Aleppo is inscribed on the World Heritage List," she said in footage handed out by UNESCO.
In Aleppo, one opposition activist working with rebel brigades said rebels still held the Souk al-Madina, a covered market of 13 km (8 miles) of vaulted stone alleyways and carved wooden facades, once a major tourist attraction.
He also said rebel brigades has said that fires that damaged more than 1,500 shops had been put out, but new fires had now broken out in the Old City's Zahrawi, Aqaba and Bab Al Nasr markets.
Plumes of black smoke were rising from many districts, and gunfire could be heard.
The rebels are sensitive to suggestions that they might have brought the conflict to one of Syria's greatest historical and commercial centres. Aleppo was once the last stop before Europe for traders plying the ancient Silk Route from Asia.