CAIRO: An ancient Yemeni kingdom and a Lebanese modernist concrete fair park were added Wednesday to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage sites in danger, the latest entries from the Middle East.
The seven major landmarks of the Ancient Yemenite Kingdom of Saba and the Rachid Karami International Fair in Tripoli were inscribed on the UN agency list in ‘’an emergency procedure,” in hopes of better preserving the neglected sites. Now added, both sites will have access to enhanced technical and financial assistance, UNESCO said.
The pre-Islamic Yemeni kingdom of Saba, which once stretched from Sanaa to Marib, now lies on one of the major front lines dividing Houthi rebels from coalition forces. The threat of destruction from the ongoing conflict was cited as the key reason to add the seven landmarks that include several ancient temples, a dam and the ruins of old Marib.
Yemen’s ruinous conflict began in 2014 when Iranian-backed rebels swept down from the mountain and occupied the capital, Sanaa, along with much of Northern Yemen, ousting the internationally recognized government.
A barrage of airstrikes has destroyed historic mud homes in Northern Saada, the historic Houthi heartlands, and damaged much of the over 2,500-year-old Old City in the center of Sanaa, also a UNESCO World Heritage site. In 2015, airstrikes partially destroyed a section of the Great Marib Dam, near the Awwam Temple, one of the seven landmarks.
Lebanon’s modernist Rachid Karami International Fair was designed during the 1960s as part of a wider policy to modernize the country. Funding shortages continually interrupted construction before the half-built site was eventually abandoned following the outbreak of civil war in the mid-1970s.
In recent years, the 70-hectare (173-acre) site, headed by a boomerang-shaped concert hall, has caught the attention of several developers. UNESCO said it added the site following concerns over its ‘’state of conservation” and fears that a new renovation could undermine the ‘’integrity of the complex.″
Since 2019, Lebanon has been embroiled in an economic crisis, with the currency having lost over 90 percent of its value since then. The financial crisis has plunged three-quarters of the population into poverty, with millions struggling to cope with some of the world’s sharpest inflation.
Yemen and Lebanon sites added to UNESCO endangered list
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Yemen and Lebanon sites added to UNESCO endangered list
- Both sites will have access to enhanced technical and financial assistance
- Seven major landmarks of Ancient Kingdom of Saba and Rachid Karami International Fair in Tripoli on UN list of ‘’an emergency procedure”
MSF says it will not share staff details demanded by Israel to access Gaza
- The aid groups say sharing such staff information could pose a safety risk
- Aid agencies dispute that substantial aid has been diverted
GENEVA: Medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres said on Friday it will not submit lists of staff demanded by Israel to maintain access to Gaza and the West Bank, saying it had not been able to obtain assurances over the safety of its teams.
MSF, which supports and helps staff hospitals in Gaza, is one of 37 international organizations that Israel ordered this month to stop work in the Palestinian territories unless they meet new rules including providing employee details.
The aid groups say sharing such staff information could pose a safety risk, pointing to the hundreds of aid workers who were killed or injured during the two-year Gaza war.
Israel’s diaspora ministry, which manages the registration process, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Israel has previously said the registrations were meant to prevent diversions of aid by Palestinian armed groups. Aid agencies dispute that substantial aid has been diverted.
MSF had said last week it would be prepared to share a partial list of Palestinian and international staff who had agreed to release that information, provided the list be used only for administrative purposes and not put its team at risk. It also said it wanted to retain control over the management of medical humanitarian supplies.
“However, despite repeated efforts, it became evident in recent days that we were unable to build engagement with Israeli authorities on the concrete assurances required,” MSF said in a statement.
It said there could be a devastating impact on humanitarian services if it is banned from operating in Gaza and the West Bank, amid the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
