Antiquities head: Palmyra to be restored in 2016

[Anthea]

Antiquities head: Palmyra to be restored in 2016

PALMYRA, SYRIA — The majority of restoration work on the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra is expected to be completed by the end of this year, the country's head of antiquities said on Sunday (March 27, 2016), after government troops recaptured the city.

Syrian government forces backed by heavy Russian air support drove the Islamic State (IS) out of Palmyra on Sunday, inflicting what the army called a "mortal blow" to militants who seized the city last year and dynamited its ancient temples.

The country's head of antiquities, Mamoun Abdulkarim, said he expected to finish most restoration work on the historical city, except for the Bell and Baal Shamin temples, which were heavily damaged last year when IS militants dynamited them.

"Work may simply end in 2016. We have huge capabilities and expertise in the general directorate of antiquities and museums. We have already executed tens of restoration works in Palmyra. We have the experience to accomplish this," Abdulkarim told Reuters in Damascus.

The Bell and Baal Shamin temples would be rebuilt after studying the situation on the ground, he said, adding that the government would take strong precautionary measures to protect the city from falling into the militants' hands again.

"The Syrian government's determination to retake Palmyra and use the help of Syrian armed forces to achieve this, and the determination of freeing Palmyra, I think there will be precautionary measures in order not to let Palmyra fall again and not to go again through these nightmares. I believe that there will be strong precautionary measures taken in the surrounding areas of Palmyra city so that the city does not fall again," he said.

Abdulkarim, who heads to Palmyra in the next 24 to 48 hours, said the first site he will go to will be Bell temple.

Palmyra was one of the most important cultural centers of the ancient world, according to UNESCO, which has described it as the crossroads of several civilizations.

The loss of Palmyra represents one of the biggest setbacks for the ultra-hardline IS group since it declared a caliphate in 2014 across large parts of Syria and Iraq.

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