LOOTERS PLUNDER PALMYRA RUINS, BRIBERY CHARGED

CAIRO The ancient ruins of Palmyra are still being plundered by looters, under the watch of the Syrian and Russian forces that captured the city from ISIL earlier this year, archeologists claim.

In the 10 months that ISIL controlled the 4,000-year-old city, it destroyed UNESCO-listed temples and made millions from selling relics. Members of the Association for the Protection of Syrian Archeology (APSA) say Russian and Syrian forces have allowed the practice to go on in return for bribes, since retaking Palmyra in March.

“The illegal excavations have flourished despite the change of the parties controlling Palmyra,” said APSA head Chiekhmous Ali.

Khaled Omran, an APSA member and former Palmyra resident now living in Turkey, said: “The archeological area is under control of the Russians. They don’t even allow the Syrian regime troops and Palmyra’s residents to enter it without permission.”

The looters are smuggling through neighbouring Turkey and Lebanon, said Omran. APSA said statues, tiles and coins — which records show had been looted in the past six months — were being offered on the black market in Turkey.

Last year, the UN banned all trade in artifacts from the region. But experts say Western buyers pay thousands of dollars for the Roman and Byzantine ruins.