By Salwa Nakhoul Carmichael
BRUSSELS, Belgium – European Union foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini warned the Islamic State (ISIS) Thursday that mass killings and destruction of archaeological sites amount to war crimes, after the extremists took control of the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra.
Her warning came after news reports said that ISIS had occupied Palmyra on Wednesday after pro-government forces pulled out of the city.
“Yet again hundreds of people have been killed and thousands more risk to be exposed to arbitrary violent actions and more destructions of cultural sites might be perpetrated,” Mogherini said in a statement.
“Palmyra is a symbol of Syria’s rich cultural heritage and has been a crossroad of civilization throughout history,” she said.
Palmyra, northeast of the Syrian capital Damascus, sits on Hellenistic and Roman ruins that date back more than 2,000 years. There are fears that the militants could destroy the ancient city, as they have done in Iraq, destroying museums, statues and ancient artifacts in Nineveh province.
“Da’esh’s mass killings and deliberate destruction of archaeological and cultural heritage in Syria and Iraq amount to a war crime according to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal court,” the former Italian foreign minister added, referring to ISIS by its Arabic acronym.
Mogherini issued a reminder that all 28 EU states had agreed last October to take all appropriate steps to prevent “the illegal trade of cultural property.”
“Such illicit traffic of cultural artifacts directly contributes to the financing of ISIL/Dae’sh and other terrorist organizations,” she said.
