In a newsflash, it said most of the city's civilian population had been evacuated before the withdrawal.
It has been reported that government troops from all sectors of Palmyra have been withdrawn, except for a prison in the east and military intelligence headquarters in the west.
Syrian state television has also said that IS fighters were trying to enter Palmyra's historical sites and establish themselves there.
Rami Abdel Rahman from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said: "IS controls almost all of Palmyra".
IS extremists sparked international outrage earlier this year in Iraq when they blew up the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud and destroyed artefacts in the Mosul museum.
[ rte.ie]
20/5/15
--
-
---
GR
FR
DE
ES
IT
RU
EU
ISIS controls half of Syrian territory, monitor says...
ReplyDeleteMore than half of Syria’s territory is now controlled by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria group after its westwards advance into the ancient city of Palmyra, a group monitoring the war said on Thursday.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told Reuters the militant group has taken control of the city’s military air base and prison after storming them on Wednesday.
ISIS followers posted a statement on Twitter saying it was in full control of the city, including the military installations, and that the retreating pro-government forces had left behind a large number of their dead....http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/05/21/ISIS-controls-half-of-Syrian-territory-monitor-says.html
21/5/15
The destruction of the UNESCO World Heritage site of Palmyra would be an "enormous loss to humanity", the head of the organisation warned Thursday after Islamic State fighters seized the ancient Syrian city...
ReplyDelete"Palmyra is an extraordinary World Heritage site in the desert and any destruction to Palmyra (would be) not just a war crime but ... an enormous loss to humanity," said Irina Bokova in a video published by the Paris-based group.
AFP