Ancient Syrian temple seriously damaged in Turkish air strikes
Turkish air strikes have seriously damaged an ancient temple in Syria’s Kurdish-held Afrin region dating back to the first millennium BC.
Pictures have shown a crater in the centre of the Ain Dara site and rubble where there used to be carved basalt lions.
The Iron Age Syro-hittite temple has been noted for its similarities to Solomon’s Temple as described in the Hebrew Bible.
The historic site was originally built by the Arameans and is believed to have been dedicated to Ishtar, the goddess of fertility.
Turkish troops and allied Syrian rebels first launched an offensive to push Kurdish militia out of Afrin ten days ago.
Renewed clashes erupted yesterday on a strategic hilltop in north-western Syria captured by Turkish troops the day before as Syrian Kurdish militiamen were trying to reclaim it.
Turkish military officials cancelled a governmentorganised press tour to Bursayah Hill separating the Kurdish-held enclave of Afrin from the Turkey-controlled town of Azaz due to what they described as “security concerns”.
Activists said at least 11 people were killed yesterday in Syria’s province of Idlib. A hospital was badly damaged and rendered unusable in suspected Syrian government air strikes on the opposition stronghold.
The Turkey-backed offensive against the Syrian Kurdish enclave Afrin and the violence in Idlib have overshadowed a peace conference hosted by Russia between the Syrian government and the opposition.
The main Syrian opposition negotiating body has boycotted the conference. The powerful Kurdish militia fighting in Afrin that controls about 25 per cent of Syria’s territory is also not attending, saying it holds Russia, the host, responsible for the Turkish offensive.
The Turkish incursion started on 20 January. Ankara has said it is seeking to drive “terrorists” away from its border and create a safe zone in the area.
Turkey considers the local Syrian Kurdish militia in control of Afrin – the People’s Defence Units or YPG – an extension of its own insurgency.
The Turkish government has not tolerated criticism of the offensive.
An Interior Ministry statement said authorities had detained 311 people for allegedly engaging in “terrorist propaganda” through social media postings critical of the Afrin offensive. The ministry said the suspects, who were accused of supporting Syrian Kurdish militia, were detained in the past week, but did not provide further details.