Various Syrian organizations, institutions, and notable figures have jointly appealed to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to safeguard the architectural treasures of the old city of Damascus. This plea comes in the aftermath of a recent fire that ravaged the historic Sarouja souk, located in the city’s old quarters.
Issuing a collective statement on Monday, the coalition held the Assad regime accountable for a series of five fires that have targeted Old Damascus over the past three years. The organizations and personalities asserted that these incidents are part of a deliberate effort by the Assad regime to bring about demographic change in Damascus and erase Syria’s rich cultural heritage, replacing it with an agenda influenced by Iran.
Urging immediate action to protect the cultural legacy and prominent landmarks in old Damascus, the joint statement underscored that the city was included on UNESCO’s World Heritage List during the third session of the World Heritage Committee in Cairo, Egypt, in 1979.
Salim al-Khatib, a member of the political committee of the Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC), commented on the fire at Sarouja souk, describing it as a calculated move to erase Damascus’s historical identity. He expressed concerns that whoever is willing to destroy homes over their inhabitants would not hesitate to harm prominent landmarks like Sarouja souk, an iconic symbol of the city.
Al-Khatib further highlighted the series of successive fires that have affected the old souks and historical landmarks of Damascus for over a decade, indicating that the Assad regime and its allies are deliberately targeting the cherished heritage of the Umayyad capital. He firmly asserted that the Assad regime, responsible for the destruction of the city’s countryside and the forced displacement of its people, would not shy away from committing arson in places that provoke its sectarian sensitivities.
(Source: SOC’s Media Department)
