Six Syrian heritage sites declared endangered

[EC]

Via al Jazeera: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/06/2013620525729467.html

Six ancient sites in Syria, including the city of Aleppo which has suffered considerable damage in the course of the country's ongoing conflict, have been added to the endangered World Heritage list, UNESCO says.

The other sites to be added are the ancient cities of Damascus and Bosra, the oasis of Palmyra, the castles of Crac des Chevaliers and Qal'at Salah El-Din - also known as the Fortress of Saladin -  and the ancient villages of northern Syria.

"Due to the armed conflict situation in Syria, the conditions are no longer present to ensure the conservation and protection of the Outstanding Universal Value of the six World Heritage properties," a UNESCO document said.

All six were placed on the list of World Heritage in Danger by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation committee at its annual meeting in Phnom Penh.

In preparatory documents for a meeting on Thursday, UNESCO said its information on the scale of the destruction was "partial" and came from unverified sources including social media and a report from Syrian authorities which it said "does not necessarily reflect the actual situation".

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