La Jornada: UNESCO doubles the number of protected sites in Lebanon

Beirut. The number of historical sites in Lebanon included in UNESCO’s enhanced protection system has increased to 79, the republic’s Minister of Culture, Ghassan Salamé, revealed to Sputnik.

“The special committee of Unesco agreed in an emergency meeting unanimously, by 12 votes, to double the number of sites with reinforced protection from 39 to 79,” he noted.

He specified that the list included the most important architectural structures and historical monuments that are a source of pride in Lebanon.

With this initiative, Beirut seeks to deprive the “aggressor” of the opportunity to declare that he did not know which facility he was attacking, he explained.

The minister highlighted Lebanon’s efforts to expand the list of objects that need such protection in the context of threats to the country’s historical heritage.

According to the minister, archaeological sites in Tire and Baalbek also suffered attacks by Israeli aviation in nearby areas, causing parts of some columns to collapse as a result of vibrations during active fighting this year and during the 2024 conflict.

In the context of the protection of cultural heritage, Salamé said Lebanon had also requested UNESCO to reclassify the archaeological sites of Tyre, already included on the world heritage list, as endangered sites.