BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Syrian government and a war monitor said on Sunday that Turkish shelling of the Kurdish-held Afrin region of Syria had seriously damaged an ancient temple.

Ain Dara is an iron age temple with remains of large carved basalt blocks and wall reliefs. Pictures circulating online, which Reuters could not independently verify, showed an apparent shell crater in the site.

A statement from the Syrian government’s antiquities department carried by Syrian state media called for international pressure on Turkey “to prevent the targeting of archaeological and cultural sites”.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said Ain Dara was exposed to Turkish shelling, causing significant damage but no casualties.

The Turkish military was not immediately available for comment.

Turkey’s operation against the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia in Afrin began a week ago and has included heavy bombardment but limited advances by its army or allied Syrian rebel groups.

The Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad has condemned the Turkish assault, but it also opposes the YPG and Kurdish aspirations for autonomy in northern parts of Syria.

Syria’s civil war which began in 2011, has led to major damage to many historical remains including widespread destruction in the UNESCO World Heritage sites of Palmyra and the Old City of Aleppo. </s> An Armenian family that fled the Armenian Genocide 100 years ago and found security and stability in Afrin, was attacked by the Turkish massacre that followed them even in Afrin to be the victims of the bombing of the Turkish warplanes in the center of Rajo district, Hawar News Agency reported.

On January 24 and at night, the Turkish warplanes bombed Rajo area, killing ethnic Armenian Rosher Konis, and injuring his mother Shamsa Konis who is at 57, while his sister Hanifa Konis, 25, got her leg amputated.

The agency quoted Hartyon Kivork, a relative of the family, as saying: “Their ancestors fled the oppression of the Turkish authorities nearly 100 years ago in the result of the massacres committed by the Turks against the Armenians so that they headed towards Afrin to live in peace among their Kurdish brothers and all other peoples and sects living in the area.”

Hartyon Kivork added, “But the Turkish occupation army has resumed its massacres which do not differentiate between people and stones to commit new massacres against all peoples in Afrin to leave our Armenian family as a victim of the Turkish crimes again while we used to live in harmony in our homes to be attacked again by the Turkish state.”

Turkey launched an air and ground campaign into Afrin, a Kurdish-controlled enclave in northwestern Syria on January 20.

The Turkish operation aims to oust from Afrin a militia made up of an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 fighters affiliated with the People’s Protection Units or YPG, a Syrian Kurdish group that has controlled territory in northern Syria and proven effective in fighting the Islamic State group.

Turkey considers the YPG to be a terrorist organization and an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party or PKK, which has fought for Kurdish autonomy in Turkey.

The Syrian government and a war monitor said on Sunday that Turkish shelling of the Kurdish-held Afrin region of Syria had seriously damaged an ancient temple.

Ain Dara is an iron age temple with remains of large carved basalt blocks and wall reliefs. Pictures circulating online, which Reuters could not independently verify, showed an apparent shell crater in the site. </s> AIN DARA, Syria (A.W.)—Both the Syrian government and the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor confirmed on Sunday that Turkish shelling of Syria’s Afrin region has seriously damaged the Ain Dara Iron Age temple.

In a statement published by Syria’s state-run SANA news agency, the Syrian government called for international pressure to be placed on Turkey to “prevent the targeting of archaeological and cultural sites in Afrin area, which is one of the richest areas in antiquities and cultural heritage in Syria.”

The statement goes on to say that the attack “reflects the extent of hatred, malevolence and the barbarism of the Turkish regime against the Syrian identity and against the past of the Syrian people and their present and future.”

Code-named by Turkey as Operation Olive Branch, the Turkish Armed Forces’ large-scale offensive on the Kurdish-majority Afrin Region of Syria was launched on Jan. 20. Officially, the offensive is against the Kurdish-led Democratic Union Party in Syria (PYD), its armed wing People’s Protection Units (YPG), and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) positions surrounding the Syrian city of Afrin. Although Turkey also says it is fighting ISIL, it is widely accepted that the terrorist organization does not have a presence in Afrin.

Turkey’s offensive has been widely criticized by many in the international community as an outright attack on the mostly Kurdish civilian population. During the first days of the operation, United States Department of State spokesperson Heather Nauert urged Turkey not to engage in the invasion of Afrin, reiterating a statement made by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who also assured that the U.S. had no intention of building a Syria-Turkey border force. The following day, Tillerson said the U.S. was very concerned, adding that the operation’s scope should remain limited and Turkey should “show restraint.”

On Jan. 24, U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly told Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a telephone conversation to “de-escalate, limit its military actions, and avoid civilian casualties and increases to displaced persons and refugees.” The Pentagon also asserted Thursday that the “Afrin operations are impeding the task to eliminate ISIS.”

The Syrian Foreign Ministry has strongly condemned the Turkish aggression against Afrin, calling the town “an inseparable part of Syria.” Syrian President Bashar al-Assad called the Turkish invasion “terrorism,” noting that “Turkey’s aggression in the Syrian city of Afrin cannot be separated from the policy pursued by the Turkish regime since the outbreak of the Syrian crisis and built on support for terrorism and various terrorist groups.”

The Dara Iron Age Proto-Hittite Ain Dara temple, is located northwest of Aleppo, near the village of Ain Dara. The temple is noted for its similarities to the biblical Solomon’s Temple, also known as the First Temple. According to the excavator Ali Abu Assaf, the temple was in existence from 1300 BC to 740 BC.

According to several sources, the home of an Armenian family that had settled in Afrin following the Armenian Genocide was shelled on Jan. 24, killing Armenian Rosher Konis. The reports also indicate that Konis’s mother, Shamsa, and sister, Hanifa Konis, were gravely injured in the bombing.

The Hawar News Agency reported that Hartyon Kivork, a relative of the family, confirmed the killing. “[Our] ancestors fled the oppression of the Turkish authorities nearly 100 years ago in the result of the massacres committed by the Turks against the Armenians so that they headed towards Afrin to live in peace among their Kurdish brothers and all other peoples and sects living in the area.”

Kivork added that Turkish occupation army had “resumed its massacres,” which do not differentiate between people and launched “new massacres against all peoples in Afrin to leave our Armenian family as a victim of the Turkish crimes again.”

Hawar released a series of photographs of the injuries sustained by the Konis family, though most of the photographs were blurred and cannot be confirmed to be authentic.

According to several sources, three Armenian families currently live in Afrin. A sizable Armenian community lived there and in the nearby village of Azaz before the Syrian Civil War. Armenian Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Tigran Balayan told Armenian reporters on Monday that his ministry is trying to confirm Konis’s death. </s> Turkey has resumed air strikes in Syria’s Kurdish enclave of Afrin after a brief lull, killing and wounding several people.

Turkey has resumed air strikes in Syria’s Kurdish enclave of Afrin after a brief lull, killing and wounding several people.

The attacks on border areas and the main town in the region have been among the worst since the Turkish army and Ankara-backed opposition fighters began a ground and air campaign on the Afrin enclave three weeks ago, Kurdish officials said.

The offensive has displaced thousands of people, many of whom have gone to the town of Afrin, which is already crowded with tens of thousands of displaced people who fled violence in other parts of Syria over the years. The new bloodshed came as Russian president Vladimir Putin and French president Emmanuel Macron discussed co-operating more closely to resolve the Syrian conflict.

The civil war has killed about 400,000 people, displaced half the population and sent more than five million refugees mostly to neighbouring countries. Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency said F-16 jets resumed bombing on Thursday night, striking the north-western enclave’s Mount Bafilun, the villages of Sheik Huruz and Kefer Jenne, and the regions of Sheran, Jinderes and Raju, among other targets.

Turkey’s military said its jets hit 19 targets, including shelters, ammunition depots and gun positions belonging to “terror” organisations. No planes were brought down. Afrin-based Kurdish official Rezan Hiddo said by telephone that Turkish warplanes hit 23 points, adding that Turkey’s artillery in three areas near Afrin has also been pounding the town.

Mr Hiddo said: “For the past 21 days, the Turkish army has been violating all laws related to war.” Separately, the Turkish chief of military staff, General Hulusi Akar, and other commanders surveyed the operation from an airborne warning and control plane, the military said.

Unconfirmed Turkish media reports said Turkey had halted flights after Russia closed the airspace over Afrin after militants shot down a Russian Su-25 fighter jet in Idlib province on February 3. Russia effectively controls the skies over the northern region.

Turkey launched an offensive into the enclave on January 20 against Syrian Kurdish fighters which Ankara considers to be a security threat because of their links to outlawed rebels in Turkey. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the air strikes targeted the town of Afrin and its outskirts, killing two people and wounding others.

Since Turkey began its attacks, 120 people have been killed, including 26 children and 17 women, according to a statement from the civil administration council in Afrin. The statement added that 60,000 people have fled their homes, leading to a humanitarian crisis. It called on international aid organisations to help, with food said to be running short. </s> "Syria: Ghouta, Idlib Afrin — France has requested an urgent meeting of UN Security Council," Le Drian said on Twitter after talks with his Turkish counterpart.

The minister further continued, saying that the parties should stop the fire immediately and provide a complete humanitarian access.

Earlier today, NTV broadcaster reported that Turkish tanks entered Syrian Afrin, backing the offensive of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) armed opposition group on the positions of Kurdish militia.

The announcement came a day after the Turkish General Staff had declared the launch of the operation dubbed Olive Branch against the Kurdish forces in Afrin. The operation started at 14:00 GMT and over 70 Turkish warplanes conducted airstrikes in seven districts of Afrin, where 108 targets out of 113 were destroyed. The military operation has already been condemned by Damascus with the Syrian Foreign Ministry calling the act a violation of Syrian sovereignty.

A spokesman for the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in Afrin, however, denied Turkish claims that its forces had entered the district. </s> BEIRUT - Turkish forces and their Syrian rebel allies damaged and tore down a statue linked to Kurdish culture in the center of Syria's Afrin town on Sunday, a statement on a Whatsapp group run by the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces said, citing the Afrin media center.



The statue was of the blacksmith Kawa, a central figure in a Kurdish legend about the new year celebration of Nawroz. The statement said this was the "first blatant violation of Kurdish people's culture and history since the takeover of Afrin."



Turkey-backed forces swept into the northwestern Syrian town of Afrin on Sunday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said. </s> The European Union’s top diplomat has criticised Turkey over its military offensive in a northern Syrian town.

The European Union’s top diplomat has criticised Turkey over its military offensive in a northern Syrian town.

Ms Mogherini told reporters in Brussels that international efforts in Syria are supposed to be “aiming at de-escalating the military activities and not escalating them”. She urged Turkey, Russia and Iran to guarantee that conflict “de-escalation zones” are established as promised, to “guarantee that that is what happens on the ground”.

Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, announced on Sunday the capture of the town of Afrin, previously controlled by the Kurdish militia known as the People’s Defence Units, or YPG. The call came as Turkey’s state-run news agency said a booby-trap bomb reportedly left by Syrian Kurdish fighters in the town of Afrin had killed 11 people — seven civilians and four Turkish-backed fighters.

Anadolu Agency said the explosion occurred late on Sunday in a four-storey building that Turkish-backed Syrian opposition forces were clearing for explosives. Meanwhile, a Syria war monitoring group claimed Turkish-allied militiamen have been looting Afrin after the Turkish military and allied Syrian fighters seized control of it.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the looting began on Sunday, after the Turkish and allied Syrian forces marched into the town centre and raised their flags there — nearly two months after the offensive on the Kurdish enclave started. The troops faced little resistance from the Kurdish militia, which withdrew, vowing a “new phase” of guerrilla tactics against Turkish troops and their allied fighters.

The Observatory, which monitors Syria’s war through a network of activists on the ground, described extensive looting of shops, homes and cars in Afrin. </s> Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The Roman Theatre's pillared portico is shown here intact in March 2016

Militants from the Islamic State group have destroyed part of the Roman Theatre in the ancient city of Palmyra.

Syria's antiquities chief said the tetrapylon - a group of four pillared structures which were mainly modern replicas - has also been ruined.

The jihadists recaptured the Unesco-listed archaeological site in December from government troops.

The head of the UN cultural body said the destruction was "a new war crime".

Its director general, Irina Bokova, said what she described as "cultural cleansing by violent extremists" had resulted in "an immense loss for the Syrian people and for humanity".

IS destroyed other monuments after it first seized Palmyra in May 2015.

The group held the site and nearby city known locally as Tadmur for 10 months.

Interactive See the damage to the ancient ruins 10 January 2017 26 December 2016

The militants were forced out by a Russian-backed government offensive in March 2016, but regained control while pro-government forces where focused on battling for the city of Aleppo late last year.

Maamoun Abdulkarim, the head of the Syrian government's Antiquities Department, told the Associated Press that reports of the latest destruction first trickled out of Palmyra late in December, and then satellite images which became available late on Thursday confirmed it.

The US-based American Schools of Oriental Research posted the images on its Facebook page, saying only two of the tetrapylon's columns remain, and the monument appeared to have been intentionally destroyed using explosives.

Only one of the structure's columns is original, as the others were rebuilt in 1963.

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Most of the pillars of the tetrapylon were reconstructed in 1963, but one was original

On Thursday, a monitoring group said IS militants had beheaded four people and shot eight others dead outside a museum close to the archaeological site.

The militants have previously carried out killings in the Roman Theatre.

When they first held the archaeological site, they blew up temples, burial towers and the Arch of Triumph, believing shrines and statues to be idolatrous.

They also destroyed the Temple of Bel - the great sanctuary of the Palmyrene gods - which had been one of the most important religious buildings of the 1st Century AD in the East. </s> The destruction by Islamic State jihadists of two key cultural sites in Syria’s ancient city of Palmyra is a “war crime”, UNESCO said Friday.

“This destruction is a new war crime and an immense loss for the Syrian people and for humanity,” Irina Bokova, director general of the UN cultural agency, said in a statement following reports that IS destroyed Palmyra’s tetrapylon monument and the facade of the city’s Roman amphitheatre.

“This new blow against cultural heritage… shows that cultural cleansing led by violent extremists is seeking to destroy both human lives and historical monuments in order to deprive the Syrian people of its past and its future,” Bokova said.

IS recaptured Palmyra, a UNESCO World Heritage site, from government forces on December 11 and the new devastation reportedly occurred earlier this month.

The jihadist group had already ravaged the city during the nine months it held the site before being expelled in March last year.

The tetrapylon, built during the rule of the Roman Emperor Diocletian in the third century, consisted of four sets of four pillars each supporting massive stone cornices.

The monument had suffered considerable damage over the centuries and only one of the 16 pillars was still standing in its original Egyptian pink granite. The rest were cement replicas erected in 1963.

The Roman amphitheatre dates to the first century and was used by IS for public executions during its occupation of the city between May 2015 and March 2016.

Before being forced out of Palmyra in a Russian-backed offensive in March, IS razed world-famous temples and tower tombs at the site.
Turkish airstrikes and shelling heavily damage the ancient Syro-Hittite Ain Dara temple in Syria's Afrin District. The Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums calls on the international community to pressure Turkey "to prevent the targeting of archaeological and cultural sites".