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| Minaret on a Storied Syrian Mosque Falls | Minaret on a Storied Syrian Mosque Falls |
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| BEIRUT, Lebanon — Fighting between Syrian insurgents and government forces in Aleppo left one of the Middle East’s most storied mosques severely damaged on Wednesday, its soaring minaret toppled by explosives. Each side accused the other of responsibility for the destruction at the Umayyad Mosque in Aleppo’s walled ancient city, a Unesco World Heritage site. | BEIRUT, Lebanon — Fighting between Syrian insurgents and government forces in Aleppo left one of the Middle East’s most storied mosques severely damaged on Wednesday, its soaring minaret toppled by explosives. Each side accused the other of responsibility for the destruction at the Umayyad Mosque in Aleppo’s walled ancient city, a Unesco World Heritage site. |
| The mosque is considered an archaeological treasure but has been a battleground for months. It was first heavily damaged by fighting last October, and President Bashar al-Assad promised a restoration. But the military later retreated from the mosque and rebel fighters have occupied it since early this year. | The mosque is considered an archaeological treasure but has been a battleground for months. It was first heavily damaged by fighting last October, and President Bashar al-Assad promised a restoration. But the military later retreated from the mosque and rebel fighters have occupied it since early this year. |
| Syria’s state media said the Nusra Front, an Islamic militant faction of the insurgency, had placed explosives inside the minaret, which dated from the 11th century. Anti-Assad activist groups at the site posted YouTube videos showing the rubble of the collapsed minaret strewn about the mosque’s tiled courtyard, with rebel fighters saying it had been hit by outside artillery fire as part of an attempt by Mr. Assad’s forces to rout them and retake the mosque. | Syria’s state media said the Nusra Front, an Islamic militant faction of the insurgency, had placed explosives inside the minaret, which dated from the 11th century. Anti-Assad activist groups at the site posted YouTube videos showing the rubble of the collapsed minaret strewn about the mosque’s tiled courtyard, with rebel fighters saying it had been hit by outside artillery fire as part of an attempt by Mr. Assad’s forces to rout them and retake the mosque. |
| “If he attacks all of the mosque, we will stay here, we will stick with our position, we won’t abandon our Islam even if all the world does,” one military commander says in a video. | “If he attacks all of the mosque, we will stay here, we will stick with our position, we won’t abandon our Islam even if all the world does,” one military commander says in a video. |
| Unesco has repeatedly pleaded for all combatants to pull back from the mosque and other World Heritage sites hit by fighting in Syria’s civil war. Last month, the director general of Unesco, Irina Bokova, issued a public appeal in which she said she had “called upon all those involved in the conflict to ensure the respect and protection of this heritage.” | Unesco has repeatedly pleaded for all combatants to pull back from the mosque and other World Heritage sites hit by fighting in Syria’s civil war. Last month, the director general of Unesco, Irina Bokova, issued a public appeal in which she said she had “called upon all those involved in the conflict to ensure the respect and protection of this heritage.” |
| Fighting was reported elsewhere in Syria on Wednesday, including a town east of Damascus that insurgents had regarded as strategically important because it was a way station for their weapons and food. Activists reached by telephone and Skype said government forces were trying to seize the town, Otaiba, after weeks of clashes, which if successful would complicate the ability of the rebels in the area to resupply themselves. | Fighting was reported elsewhere in Syria on Wednesday, including a town east of Damascus that insurgents had regarded as strategically important because it was a way station for their weapons and food. Activists reached by telephone and Skype said government forces were trying to seize the town, Otaiba, after weeks of clashes, which if successful would complicate the ability of the rebels in the area to resupply themselves. |
| Hundreds of Syrians have been reported killed over the past week in a Damascus suburb, Jdaidet al-Fadl, which anti-Assad groups have called a war atrocity and government news media have described as a campaign to purge the area of terrorists, using Mr. Assad’s description for his armed opponents. | Hundreds of Syrians have been reported killed over the past week in a Damascus suburb, Jdaidet al-Fadl, which anti-Assad groups have called a war atrocity and government news media have described as a campaign to purge the area of terrorists, using Mr. Assad’s description for his armed opponents. |
| The United Nations estimates that more than 70,000 Syrians have been killed and millions displaced since the conflict began as a peaceful protest against Mr. Assad’s government in March 2011. It is now a civil war that has pitted his minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam, against an opposition drawn largely from the Sunni majority. | The United Nations estimates that more than 70,000 Syrians have been killed and millions displaced since the conflict began as a peaceful protest against Mr. Assad’s government in March 2011. It is now a civil war that has pitted his minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam, against an opposition drawn largely from the Sunni majority. |
| The fighting has threatened to destabilize Syria’s neighbors, particularly Lebanon, where the powerful Shiite militant group Hezbollah, which supports Mr. Assad, has sent fighters into Syria. The Syrian town of Qusayr, near the Lebanese border, has become a focal point of sectarian tensions and potential clashes between Hezbollah militants and Syrian rebels. | |
| On Wednesday, Sheik Moaz al-Khatib, the departing president of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, the main anti-Assad political group, angrily criticized Hassan Nasrallah, the general secretary of Hezbollah, over his support for Mr. Assad and urged him to renounce the alliance. | On Wednesday, Sheik Moaz al-Khatib, the departing president of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, the main anti-Assad political group, angrily criticized Hassan Nasrallah, the general secretary of Hezbollah, over his support for Mr. Assad and urged him to renounce the alliance. |
| “Is it satisfying to you that the Syrian regime shells its citizens with fighter planes and Scud missiles, mixing the blood and flesh of children with the bread?” Sheik Moaz asked in a speech, posted on his Facebook page. Citing a call by two Sunni scholars this week for a holy war in Syria, Sheik Moaz said it was a “response to the chilling events that are occurring, from the butchering of civilians and the gushing of blood, to the screams of the women in the prisons.” | “Is it satisfying to you that the Syrian regime shells its citizens with fighter planes and Scud missiles, mixing the blood and flesh of children with the bread?” Sheik Moaz asked in a speech, posted on his Facebook page. Citing a call by two Sunni scholars this week for a holy war in Syria, Sheik Moaz said it was a “response to the chilling events that are occurring, from the butchering of civilians and the gushing of blood, to the screams of the women in the prisons.” |
Hwaida Saad reported from Beirut, and Rick Gladstone from New York. Hania Mourtada contributed reporting from Beirut. | Hwaida Saad reported from Beirut, and Rick Gladstone from New York. Hania Mourtada contributed reporting from Beirut. |