UN peacekeepers will protect UNESCO sites

Rome - UN peacekeeping forces will protect UNESCO World Heritage sites from attacks by Islamists. This was reported today by The Guardian, citing the mentioned organization.
    The protection of UNESCO's world cultural heritage, such as Syria's Palmyra devastated by radicals from the Islamic State (IS) group, was proposed by Italy. "UNESCO said yes to the blue helmets," declared Italian Minister of Culture Dario Franceschini, according to whom 53 countries voted in favor of the proposal.
    "The international community cannot just silently and passively watch the terrorist attacks by IS and the horrifying footage from Palmyra," Franceschini added.
    The Islamic State seized Palmyra in May and destroyed some of its most valuable monuments in this ancient city. In August, the head of UNESCO described the destruction of the Temple of Bel in Palmyra as a war crime.
    Islamists are also accused of the devastation of other important monuments in areas under their control in Syria and Iraq, including archaeological sites at the locations of the ancient cities of Hatra, Nimrud, Nineveh, and Khorsabad in Iraq.
    The Islamic State also destroyed a number of religious and historical monuments in the city of Timbuktu in Mali, which is also on the UNESCO World Heritage list.