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Turkish military forces and Ankara-backed Takfiri militants have reportedly destroyed several archaeological sites in northern Syria’s Raqqah province in an attempt to erase the Arab country’s cultural identity.
AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Turkish military forces and Ankara-backed Takfiri militants have reportedly destroyed several archaeological sites in northern Syria’s Raqqah province in an attempt to erase the Arab country’s cultural identity.
Syria’s official SANA news agency, citing a Syrian cultural official, said that Turkish forces have razed several archaeological hills in the Balikh basin. Heritage sites included Tell Hammam al-Turkman, Tell Sahlan, Tell Aswad, and Tell Jatal.
Dr Mahmoud Hammoud, Director General of Antiquities and Museums, said that Turkish-backed militants are systematically sabotaging Syria’s archaeological sites and monuments and looting antiquities to destroy the country’s cultural heritage and identity.
Hammoud also called on international bodies to help stop crimes committed by Turkish-backed militants against Syrian heritage, which he described as “savage practices against antiquities.”
He also demanded that the international community protect the important archaeological sites in Syria that date back to the seventh and eighth millennium BC.
Ankara-backed militants were deployed to northeast Syria last October after Turkish military forces launched a long-threatened cross-border invasion in a declared attempt to drive away militants from the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG). ) from border areas.
Ankara views the US-backed YPG as a terrorist organization linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been seeking an autonomous Kurdish region in Turkey since 1984.
The offensive came to a halt shortly after an agreement between Ankara and Moscow.
Turkey has played an important role in supporting terrorists in Syria since a major foreign-backed insurgency took over the country nine years ago.
However, with the Syrian government gradually regaining control over most of Syria, Turkey has instead sought to enlist terrorists in its operations against the Kurds in northern Syria.
However, the Syrian government has firmly rejected the Turkish-led operations as a flagrant violation of its sovereignty and has promised to free the entire country from foreign occupation.
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