Syrian Democratic Forces commit to protecting heritage sites
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – On Monday, the General Command of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces published a statement affirming its commitment to the protection of cultural heritage sites.
In the statement, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) pledged to protect heritage sites in accordance with both international law and the local laws of the Autonomous Administration, specifically Law no. 4 passed in 2019.
The statement consisted of 12 articles which the SDF affirmed its commitment to adopting, including the “immediate evacuation of archaeological sites,” refraining from purposefully damaging cultural sites or using them as military headquarters, and avoiding accidental damage to such sites.
The SDF also pledged to protect historical and heritage sites from damage in the event of attacks by other parties to conflict, to work with local Internal Security Forces to prevent the trafficking, theft, or looting of cultural items within heritage sites, and allow civil authorities to access cultural heritage sites to assess and review their condition.
The statement also explained that SDF leadership would be trained in the mechanisms to protect heritage sites, and that all commanders and officers in the SDF would be subject to punishment if they failed to abide by the articles elaborated in the statement.
Cultural heritage sites were defined in the statement as including “archaeological sites, historic monuments, places of worship, museums, libraries, archives, manuscripts, works of art,” and “monuments and centers containing a large amount of cultural properties.”
Reporting by Lucas Chapman