During The Second World War, countries on both sides of the fight have destroyed a number of important cultural sites in Europe and Asia. In 1942, the Nazi Lufwaffe leveled the Royal Opera House in Valletta, Malta. And in 1945, the United States hollowed out the Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall when it dropped the first atomic bomb in Hiroshima, Japan.
Although these sites may not have been intentionally targeted, the response to this devastation was Hague Convention of 1954 for the protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflict. The international community strengthened these protections in 1977 with additional protocols to the 1949 Geneva Conventions. Article 53 of these protocols prohibits “any act of hostility directed against historical monuments, works of art or places of worship which constitute the cultural or spiritual heritage of peoples”.
According to these international agreements, targeting cultural sites constitutes a war crime. But that doesn’t mean military groups have stopped doing it. In recent decades, wars and terrorist acts specifically targeting heritage have damaged cultural sites in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and West Africa.
1. Old Town of Dubrovnik, Croatia
The city of Dubrovnik dates back to the 7th century, when the Romans and Slavs settled on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It became a major trading power and, in the 19th century, Lord Byron nicknamed him the “Pearl of the Adriatic”. In 1979, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization – or UNESCO –designated the “Old Town” or “old town” of Dubrovnik as a World Heritage Site.
In 1991 and 1992, the city suffered serious damage during the siege of Dubrovnik, part of the Yugoslav Wars. More than two-thirds of the buildings in the old city were hit by projectiles and three were destroyed by fire. In 2005, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia sentenced former Yugoslav general Pavle Strugar to eight years in prison for war crimes, including the destruction of historical monuments in Dubrovnik.
2. Vijećnica (City Hall) of Sarajevo, Bosnia
Historic Town HallOr Vijećnica, in Sarajevo dates from the 1890s. Its architecture is inspired by Islamic designs; specifically, Mamluk architecture that flourished between the 13th and 16th centuries in Cairo, Egypt. In 1949, the city converted it into the National Library.
In 1992, the Vijećnica caught fire during the siege of Sarajevo, destroying almost two million books. The city worked on the restoration of the Vijećnica and, in 2014, he reopened it to the public.
3. Buddhas of Bamiyan, Afghanistan
THE Buddhas of Bamiyan were once the tallest monuments in Buddha in the world. Dug into the side of a cliff in the 6th century, the largest measured more than 170 meters high. The Buddhas quickly became known as a holy place. In 629 AD, the Chinese traveler Xuanzang described tens of thousands of monks gathering near the statues.
But in 2001, the Taliban destroyed the Buddhas by bombing them for several weeks. The destruction followed an order from spiritual leader Mullah Mohammed Omar ordering the destruction of idolatrous statues in Afghanistan.
4. Djinguereber Mosque of Timbuktu, Mali
The Mali Empire built the Djinguereber Mosque in Timbuktu under the reign of Mansa Moussa in the 14th century. It is made from crushed earth and wood and is still an important part of urban life today.
However, the mosque suffered minor damage in 2012 when members of the militant group Ansar Dine attacked the town. The group damaged two of Djinguereber’s tombs as well as Islamic shrines in the city that the Ansar Dine considered sacrilegious. In 2016, Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi pleaded guilty to damaging these sites before the International Criminal Court, marking the Court’s decision. first pursuit the destruction of cultural sites as a war crime.
5. Great Mosque of Aleppo, Syria
The Great Mosque of Aleppo was built between the 8th and 13th centuries. Traditionally, it is believed to contain the remains of the prophet Zechariah, father of John the Baptist. It was one of the largest and oldest mosques in Aleppo, located within the walls of the old city.
The minaret of the Great Mosque, a tall tower from which a crier calls Muslims to daily prayer, was built in the 11th century. But in 2013, it was destroyed amid the fighting of the Syrian civil war. It is still unclear exactly what caused the tower to collapse. The mosque was occupied by anti-government forces at the time, and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime blamed fighters from a group linked to Al-Qaeda for the damage. The rebels, for their part, claimed that the site had been damaged by Syrian army fire.
6. Temple of Bel in Palmyra, Syria
THE Temple of Bel was a major religious site in the ancient city of Palmyra. Built in the first century, the temple was dedicated to the Mesopotamian god Bel (or Baal). The site contained over 1,000 columns, over 500 tombs and a Roman aqueduct.
In 2015, the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, razed the nearly 2,000-year-old temple. The attack followed the destruction of the Baalshamin Temple, another ancient religious site in Palmyra.
7. The Gates of Nineveh, Iraq
The ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh dates from the 7th century BC. The city was historically guarded by walls and multiple gates. Two of the most important gates were the Adad Gate and the Mashki Gate, also known as the “Gate of God”.
In 2016, the Islamic State destroy both of these doors as part of its ongoing campaign against cultural sites and relics.