UNESCO Istanbul meet focuses on threats of war and terrorism

ISTANBUL – The head of UNESCO says world heritage sites must be protected from terrorism and war.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 40th World Heritage Committee session in Istanbul on Sunday, Director-General Irina Bokova said world heritage is under attack “from Mali to Syria.”

She says: “When a world heritage site is destroyed, we are all diminished.”

The 11-day gathering will discuss concrete steps to protect at-risk sites and review proposals to include 26 new sites in UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

Candidate sites include the medieval Armenian city of Ani in Turkey’s northeastern province of Kars.

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