Cultural Heritage Demolished by Fighting in Yemen, All Sides Are to Blame

History has become a tragic target of the ongoing violence in Yemen. The Old City of Sanaa, on the UNESCO World Heritage list, has not escaped the bombardment, which has caused the destruction of many historical buildings and residences.

Abdel Malek Al-Youssifi, a Yemeni political researcher, told Sputnik that “many archeological sites in Yemen have been damaged. They make up part of the heritage of mankind. When we talk about the responsibility of destroying the sites, we will find that it is a common issue among the conflicting parties, supporters of the former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, Ansarullah fighters, and the Saudi-led Arab coalition forces.”

Al-Youssifi’s comments come after the June 12 bombing raid of the Old City of Sanaa, which in addition to human casualties, caused the destruction of several ancient structures.

He added that “Humanitarian Law prohibits using civilians as human shields, and using historically sacred sites as military fire coverage for targeting civilians.”

He specified that “among damaged archeological sites are the historical citadel of ‘Cairo,’ ‘Dar El Hagar,’ a couple of archeological sites in different parts of Ma’reb, Taiz, Al Hodayda, and in Sanaa. The former president Ali Abdullah Saleh and the Houthis led a campaign, in which a missile struck the UNESCO-listed historical city of Sanaa.”

People search for survivors under the rubble of houses destroyed by Saudi airstrikes in the old city of Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, June 12, 2015.

© AP Photo / Hani Mohammed

Al-Youssifi also pointed out that “Forces loyal to Ali Abdullah Saleh were present in the historical citadel of Cairo, which is an important archeological site built by the ‘apostolics,’ so the activists in Taiz city demanded the shelling of the citadel, which is very strange as some activists said that human life is more important than the citadel. Thus, there is a misuse of archeological sites as people centralize there; then the Arab coalition’s aggression takes place… We are talking about common responsibility in demolishing these sites.”

He stressed “the importance of the archeological sites from a historical perspective, for example Taiz historical citadel dates back to the era of the apostolic state, which is from the fifth Hijri century, and that most of the sites date back to Islamic history.”

For her part, Irina Bokova, the Director-General of The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has condemned the destruction of the old buildings of Sanaa.

“I am deeply distressed by the loss of human lives, as well as by the damage inflicted on one of the world’s oldest significant Islamic urban landscapes. I am shocked by the images of these magnificent many-storied tower-houses and serene gardens reduced to rubble,” Bokova said.

She called on all parties in the armed conflict to fully respect cultural heritage and to protect it as “this heritage carries the soul of the Yemeni people, it is a symbol of a millennial history of knowledge, and it belongs to all humankind.”

Since the conflict began in Yemen, many historical houses have born extensive damage or collapse from the offensive and shelling operations. On June 9 the historical ‘Al-Ardi’ complex, which the Ottomans built outside the gates of the old city, was seriously damaged. 

UNESCO says the historical value of many residential buildings, monuments, archeological sites, and holy sites is beyond repair.