With the help of Russian air strikes, Syrian government forces retook the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria on Sunday. An ancient Semitic city that dates to the Neolithic period, Palmyra is now said to be in “good condition,” according to The Art Newspaper. Last year, the Islamic State took the Unesco World Heritage site and destroyed a number of ancient monuments, while also planting land mines around the city. Though significant damage has been done to the site, specifically in the form of numerous bullet holes and smashed statues, there is hope that many of the buildings and pieces can be restored. It took a nearly month-long offensive by the Syrian Army to push out or kill the hundreds of the Islamic State fighters at the Palmyra site, according to reports. Unesco and the International Council on Monuments and Sites (Icomos) want to restore the city as quickly as possible so it may be reopened to city residents and site visitors. Russian President Vladimir Putin offered “to provide immediate support as soon as the security situation would allow,” which would include sending experts from the Hermitage Museum to aid in the restoration. BESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswy The victory was called “an important achievement and new evidence of the effectiveness of the strategy followed by the Syrian Army and its allies in the war against terrorism,” in a statement by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
