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UNITED NATIONS - The United Nations cultural organization, UNESCO , warns that world heritage sites in the West African country ofMali and in the Arab world are at risk of damage and theft aspolitical upheaval sweeps through those states. Distruction of historical manuscripts The ancient city of Timbuktu saw its golden age as an Islamicintellectual and spiritual center in the 15th and 16th centuries.Its three great mosques, the Djingareyber, Sankore and Sidi Yahia,still stand as a testament to that time. But now, UNESCO warns,they are under threat from rebel groups, including Tuaregs and theal-Qaida-linked Ansar Dine. UNESCO Assistant Director-General Francesco Bandarin said Fridaythat in addition to the mosques and several mausoleums, Timbuktualso has one of the world"s most important collections ofancient manuscripts. "They have collected in Timbuktu in different collections,mostly private collections, a very large amount, over 30,000manuscripts that are the most important library of religious andcivil life in the Sahara. Also some of them are copied fromprevious times. It is an extremely important heritage of Islam andhistory there," said Bandarin. He said when the coup d"état began in late March therebels did not loot the collections. But in mid-April, thesituation worsened and some manuscripts were stolen from theIslamic research center in Timbuktu. He said UNESCO does not yetknow how extensive the theft was. UNESCO has warned Mali"s neighbors to be on the look-out fortrafficked manuscripts. Bandarin noted that the illegal trade inantiquities worldwide is a $6 billion a year business, so thatthese treasures often end up on the black market and are sold toprivate collectors. He said UNESCO sent a mission to Mali"s capital, Bamako, onThursday to look into the situation further. Bandarin says that while the Arab Spring has been good fordemocracy, it has not necessarily been kind to world heritage sitesin Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Syria. Priceless artifacts, gone In Libya, he points out that after the revolution ended, apriceless collection of more than 4,000 ancient Greek artifacts waslooted from a bank vault in Benghazi. Some of the items wereretrieved in Egyptian markets, but many remain missing. In Egypt, he says the chaos of the past year has led to a surge inthe construction of illegal homes, which can damage ancient sites. "A site can be destroyed in many forms, and not necessarilyby a bomb, it can be destroyed by development of buildings and soon," noted Bandarin. In Syria, where anti-government protests led to 15 months ofpolitical violence, Bandarin says UNESCO has not had any majorreports of damage. But he is concerned about reports that theSyrian military is using the ancient Crac des Chevaliers fortresswest of the flashpoint town of Homs, and Salah El-Din Castle eastof Latakia as staging grounds for deployments. He says because of the violence, UNESCO has been unable to send ateam in to assess these sites. For now, he says, UNESCO hopes to "raise the alert"that important world heritage sites are under threat from conflict.He says through public awareness the agency hopes to avert suchpast tragedies, such as when the Afghan Taliban blew up the two 6thcentury monumental Buddhas of Bamiyan in 2001. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Holy Quran Ebook Manufacturer , Muslim Azan Clock, and more. For more , please visit Arabic Alphabet Chart today!
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