BAGHDAD: Iraq on Monday exhibited several ancient artifacts that it said had been returned by the United States and other countries, long after they were looted and smuggled out following the 2003 US invasion.
Iraqi authorities have been trying to retrieve thousands of archaeological relics missing since the invasion, which was followed by widespread looting in the country that some historians regard as the cradle of civilization.
Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein handed the recently recovered relics over to Culture, Tourism and Antiquities Minister Ahmed Al-Badrani at a ceremony in Baghdad.
Most of the artefacts on display at the foreign ministry headquarters were returned by the US after a visit by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani to Washington in April, Badrani said.
He said other relics had been returned by other states, but gave no details.
Hussein said more “rare archaeological collections” would be returned by Switzerland and Japan this month.
Iraq exhibits ancient artifacts returned by US and other countries
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Iraq exhibits ancient artifacts returned by US and other countries
- Iraqi authorities have been trying to retrieve thousands of archaeological relics missing since the invasion
- More ‘rare archaeological collections’ would be returned by Switzerland and Japan this month
Syrian government vows to protect Kurds in Aleppo, accuses SDF of planting explosives
- Kurdish-led group targeting neighborhoods with mortars, machine guns, Ministry of Defense says
- Army declares Ashrafieh, Sheikh Maqsoud ‘closed military zone’ after hundreds of civilians evacuated
LONDON: The Syrian government on Wednesday affirmed its commitment to protect all citizens, including Kurds, as armed tensions in Aleppo between the Syrian army and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces continued for a fourth day.
The Ministry of Defense accused the SDF of planting explosives on roads and setting booby traps in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods, and bombarding them with mortar shells and heavy machine gun fire.
The army designated the two neighborhoods a “closed military zone” after the Syrian Arab Red Crescent evacuated 850 civilians from the area.
The government said in a statement that the SDF played no role in the city’s security and military affairs.
“This confirms that the exclusive responsibility for maintaining security and protecting residents falls upon the Syrian state and its legitimate institutions, in accordance with the constitution and applicable laws,” it said.
Protecting all citizens, including Kurds, was a non-negotiable responsibility upheld without discrimination based on ethnicity or affiliation, it said.
It also rejected any portrayal of its security measures as targeting a specific community, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency.
“The authorities concerned stress that those displaced from areas of tension are exclusively civilians, all of them Kurdish citizens who left their neighborhoods out of fear of escalation,” the statement said.
“They sought refuge in areas under the control of the state and its official institutions, which clearly demonstrates the trust of Kurdish citizens in the Syrian state and its ability to provide them with protection and security and refutes claims alleging that they face threats or targeted actions.”
The government called for the withdrawal of armed groups from Aleppo.
At least three civilians and a Syrian soldier have been killed and dozens more injured in Aleppo since Tuesday. Authorities have accused the SDF of targeting medical and educational facilities.
The escalation in violence has dealt a blow to an agreement between the two sides that was meant to be implemented by the end of last year.
The Syrian government reached an agreement with the SDF in March that included plans to integrate the group’s military, territory and natural resources, including oil fields, into the new government in Damascus.
