Looters plunder treasures of Palmyra – under Russian noses
Soldiers take bribes to turn a blind eye while Western buyers pay fortunes for Roman antiquities
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, archaeologists claim.
In the 10 months that Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) controlled the 4,000-year-old city, it destroyed Unesco-listed temples and made millions from selling relics.
When President Bashar al-Assad’s army and its Russian backers retook the city in March they were heralded as saviours of Syria’s cultural heritage.
However, members of the Association for the Protection of Syrian Archaeology (APSA) have told The Daily Telegraph the forces have allowed the practice to go on in return for bribes.
The site is now controlled by the Russian military, which has built a base within the Unesco-protected zone.
“The illegal excavations have flourished despite the change of the parties controlling Palmyra,” said Chiekhmous Ali, head of APSA, a group of Syrian archaeologists based in Strasbourg that has contacts inside the city.
He added: “The antiquities trade in Palmyra continues to be conducted by the same looters, who have been able to deal with Isil, the regime and the Russians. They bribe some officers and soldiers to turn a blind eye.”
Khaled Omran, an APSA member and former Palmyra resident now living in Turkey, said: “The archaeologi- cal 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 the antiquities out of Syria through neighbouring Turkey and Lebanon, said Mr Omran, who closely monitors the trade. APSA said statues, tiles and coins – which records show had been looted in the last six months – were being offered on the black market in Turkey.
In February last year the UN banned all trade in artefacts from the region. But experts say Western buyers pay thousands of pounds for the Roman and Byzantine ruins.
Chris Doyle, of the Council for ArabBritish Understanding, said: “The regime has no better record than Isil on protecting such heritage, as the pulverising of Aleppo demonstrates.”
Mr Omran’s uncle, Khaled al-Assad, was head of antiquities in Palmyra for 50 years until he was executed by Isil in August last year. When Isil overran the city, he stayed to protect the site from the jihadists, who have a reputation for destroying artefacts they view as idolatrous.
He had managed to move several hundred pieces from the city’s museum into safekeeping in Damascus. The 82year-old was interrogated by the Islamists about the location of the treasures. When he refused to give up the information he was beheaded.
Some months later, the militants dynamited the temples of Baal Shamin and Bel, as well as a triumphal arch, which had stood for 1,800 years.
The promised Unesco-led restoration of the remaining ruins has yet to begin. Government forces are still battling Isil, which is just six miles from Palmyra and attempting to take the city once more.