UN Chief Ban Ki-moon appalled by Islamic State militants demolishing ancient Syrian temple

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Monday that he is appalled by reports of Islamic State militants demolishing a temple in Syria's ancient Palmyra. "These barbaric acts of terror join a long list of crimes committed over the past four years in Syria against its civilian population and heritage," he said.  

An ancient temple, Baalshamin in the Syrian town of Palmyra was reduced to rubble by Islamic State militants on Sunday. Witnesses confirmed the complete destruction of the ancient monument in what UNESCO said was a "war crime."

The UN cultural agency called the destruction of the temple, part of a sprawling Roman-era complex that was once among the most popular tourist sites in the Middle East, an "immense loss for the Syrian people and for humanity." Kishore Rao, Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, said the ancient oasis city of Palmyra sat at a crossroads between the Roman empire, Persia, China and India, and that its soaring architecture was a "masterpiece of human creative genius." "The destruction of any part of it is equally deplorable," Rao added.

Activists outside Palmyra reported the demolition of the Temple of Baalshamin on late Sunday, but there were conflicting accounts of the timing and the extent of the destruction. A witness, who goes by the name Nasser al-Thaer, said the bombing took place on Sunday shortly after 4 PM (local time). The militants had lined the inner and outer walls of the temple with small bottles of explosives more than a month ago, he said. "I went to see it, not from very close because IS (militants) were there and because I was worried for myself and afraid they will ask me what are you doing here. So I saw it from a distance," al-Thaer said. "It is rocks on the ground. Nothing more," he said.

He said he feared other ancient sites in Palmyra might be next, but that no explosives have been placed around them. Ban in his statement on Monday recalled that destroying world cultural sites was a crime. 

The extremist group, which has imposed a violent interpretation of Islamic law across its self-declared caliphate straddling Syria and Iraq, claims ancient relics promote idolatry. But the IS group is also believed to sell looted antiquities. The foundation of the Temple of Baalshamin dates back to AD 23, which makes it roughly contemporary with the main sanctuary of the city, the Temple of Bel, said Martin Makinson, a member of the Association for the Protection of Syrian Archaeology, which documents the looting and destruction of historic sites. Most of the structure destroyed on Monday dated back to AD 130, he added.

Ban Ki-moon also voiced outrage over the murder of Khaled al-Assad, the retired chief archaeologist who was at Palmyra whose body was mutilated after he was beheaded on August 18. The UN Chief has also called on world governments to "unite and act swiftly to put a stop to this terrorist activity."