UNESCO chief Irina Bokova on Thursday welcomed a push to recapture the Syrian heritage city of Palmyra from Islamic State (ISIS) jihadists, who have destroyed many of the ancient site's monuments.
"For one year, Palmyra has been a symbol of the cultural cleansing plaguing the Middle East," the head of the UN's cultural body said, according to the AFP news agency, adding that she welcomed the effort to retake "the Palmyra archaeological site, martyr city inscribed on the UNESCO world heritage list".
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