ARTDAILY
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| A file picture taken on March 14, 2014 shows the citadel (background) of the ancient oasis city of Palmyra. AFP PHOTO/JOSEPH EID. |
EGYPT---Leading Sunni Muslim body Al-Azhar said Sunday the world must unite in a "battle of all humanity" to prevent the Islamic State group from destroying Syria's ancient city of Palmyra. The appeal came a day after Syria's antiquities director said that IS fighters had entered the museum in Palmyra and raised their black flag over the ancient citadel that overlooks the archaeological site. "Protecting archeological sites from destruction and plundering is the battle of all of humanity," the Cairo-based Al-Azhar, a prestigious seat of Islamic learning, said in a statement. "We have to unite our efforts in order to protect one of the most important archaeological cities in the Middle East from being destroyed by Daesh," it said, using an Arabic acronym for IS. [
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