Syria: Turkey bombs Christian archeological site

The Turkish Air Force has damaged a Christian archeological site on the UNESCO World Heritage List as Ankara forces launch an attack in northwestern Syria on the Kurdish enclave of Afrin.

The bombings, carried out by Turkish planes on Wednesday night, were aimed at "the site of Brad, 15 km from the city of Afrin and which has been a World Heritage Site since 2011," the General said on its website. Directorate of Antiquities and Museums in Syria (DGAM).

The strikes caused the "destruction of many important archeological buildings" and among the structures affected are "the tomb of Agios Maronas, patron saint of the Maronite community, and the church of Agios Ioulianos, in which this tomb is located," according to its leader. General Directorate of Antiquities Mahmoud Hamoud.

It is "one of the oldest Christian churches in the world", as it was built around the end of the 4th century, he explained.
By the end of January, a 3.000-year-old Neo-Hittite temple had already been damaged by Turkish air strikes in northern Syria. Ankara had then assured that the "archaeological ruins" were not "certainly" included in the targets of its attack.

In addition to the tomb of St. Maron, discovered in 2002 by French archaeologists, the ancient city of Brad contains many Christian ruins dating back to Roman and Byzantine times.
"This place is one of the most beautiful pages in the history of Christianity. "It houses three churches, a monastery and a five-meter tower," said Maamoun Abdul Karim, a former head of the Antiquities Directorate.

"The Mongols did not do it either," he told AFP.

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