War Damages Syria's Historic Crusade Castle 'Crac des Chevaliers'

The Crac des Chevaliers, one of the best-known Crusader castle, is now in ruins due to conflict between Bashar al-Assad's loyalists and rebels in Syria.

Political unrest in Syria has killed some 150,000 people and damaged some of the world's historic sites such as the 11th century Umayyad mosque and the ancient city of Palmyra. A latest report by the Associated Press says that the Crac des Chevaliers is severely damaged by modern warfare.

Crac des Chevaliers was built by the Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem from 1142 to 1271 and is now a UNESCO World heritage site.

The castle lies 25 miles from Homs, a city that saw a three-year conflict between President Bashar Assad's loyalists and rebel forces.

The castle was used by Syria's Sunni Muslim rebels and civilians as a refuge against the government's armed siege in the region. The villagers hoped that the thick walls of the castle and its historical significance would prevent Assad's government from striking the castle.

In March, the media reported that the Crac des Chevaliers castle was recaptured by the government troops. The heavy airstrike killed 93 rebels and destroyed several parts of the citadel.

Francesco Bandarin, UNESCO's assistant director-general for culture, said in February that important sites in Syria weree "essentially destroyed from a scientific point of view," npr reported.

"We have a very serious situation there," he told npr. "One of the worst I've seen. We think that heritage is part of human life. It's not a separate thing. Culture is part of human identity. Now if you take away heritage and identity to people, they're really deprived of a very fundamental part of their humanity."

 Prosperous Tourist Season?

The Syrian government seems to be oblivious to the damage done to the historic site.

Syria's Minister of Tourism Bisher Yazigi, recently said that the Crac des Chevaliers and the Wadi al-Nadara areas will see a good tourist season as "miscellaneous activities are planned in the two sites during summertime," the Syrian Arab News Agency reported.