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UN chief ‘appalled’ by Islamic State’s demolition of Palmyra

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FILES - A picture taken on March 14, 2014 shows the Temple of Baal Shamin seen through two Corinthian columns in the ancient oasis city of Palmyra, 215 kilometres northeast of Damascus. Islamic State group jihadists on August 23, 2015 blew up the ancient temple of Baal Shamin in the UNESCO-listed Syrian city of Palmyra, the country's antiquities chief told AFP. "Daesh placed a large quantity of explosives in the temple of Baal Shamin today and then blew it up causing much damage to the temple," said Maamoun Abdulkarim, using another name for IS. IS, which controls swathes of Syria and neighbouring Iraq, captured Palmyra on May 21, sparking international concern about the fate of the heritage site described by UNESCO as of "outstanding universal value". AFP PHOTO/JOSEPH EID

UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon said on Monday he was appalled by reports that Islamic State militants had demolished a temple in Syria’s ancient Palmyra.

IS fighters packed explosives in the Baal Shamin temple and blew up the shrine on Sunday, Syria’s antiquities chief said.

Ban also voiced outrage over the murder of Khaled al-Assaad, the retired chief archeologist at Palmyra whose body was mutilated after he was beheaded on August 18.

“These barbaric acts of terror join a long list of crimes committed over the past four years in Syria against its civilian population and heritage,” Ban said in a statement.

Palmyra is listed as a world heritage site by the UN cultural body Unesco, and Ban recalled that destroying world cultural sites was a war crime.

The UN chief called on world governments to “unite and act swiftly to put a stop to this terrorist activity.”

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