List of World Heritage in Danger
After inscribing the Syrian World Heritage sites on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 2013, the Committee decided to add the Parthian City of Hatra in Iraq and the Old Cities of Sana’a and Shibam in Yemen to the Danger List.
The terrorist organisation ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) heavily damaged the cultural World Heritage of Hatra in Iraq. The Committee members expressed their deep concern about the deliberate and targeted destruction of Iraqi sites. They underlined their readiness to support Iraq in the reconstruction of the site as soon as the security situation on the ground would allow. The Parthian city of Hatra was the capital of the first Arab Kingdom. The Hellenistic and Roman temples of Hatra bear witness to the great significance of the city in ancient times. The Iraqi World Heritage sites of Samarra and Ashur are already listed as World Heritage in Danger.
Two World Heritage sites in Yemen were also inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger. The Old City of Sana’a suffered serious damage due to armed conflicts in the country, which particularly concerned the capital’s neighbourhood of Al Qasimi. The 12th century al-Mahdi Mosque and surrounding houses were damaged or destroyed. The Committee also decided to inscribe the Old Walled City of Shibam on the List of World Heritage in Danger, since it is also equally threatened by armed conflicts.
The Committee emphasised that placing the three sites on the List of World Heritage in Danger is a means to mobilise international assistance for the safeguarding of these threatened cultural heritage sites.
