Syrian opposition dedicate their lives to guarding historical artifacts

Opposition fighters in Syria battling to rescue the northern city of Aleppo from the regime forces, said they would protect the historical sites and artifacts as though they were protecting their own lives

The Northern Syrian city of Aleppo is experiencing the heaviest fighting in years, as opposition groups are continuously advancing in the city against the forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.

On last Thursday, the opposition groups started simultaneous attacks from several directions of the town, unleashing hundreds of rockets and shells. Regime forces hit back with shelling and airstrikes.

As opposition fighters are advancing in the city, Assad is losing his foothold in Aleppo, the industrial and economic capital and the largest city of Syria before the war.

Abu Abdullah, an opposition commander, claimed they captured significant sites of the city, including the Aleppo Scientific Research Center, in the latest fighting, which they called the Victory Operation.

The opposition launched a fresh attack towards the Jadide neighborhood, one of the regime strongholds in the area.

Abdullah said the international arms dealers as well as historical artifact smugglers have been hunting in the city, ever since the Syrian civil war started in 2011.

He stated that most of the historical artifacts were either destroyed or stolen and added, “We are expanding our efforts to protect the remaining artifacts."

“We will protect these works, which is part of the Syrian history, just as we protect our own lives," Abdullah said.

The artifacts were taken into a highly protected building, said Abdullah and added only a few persons know the location.

The historical artifacts that are being protected by the opposition, include a millennial Ayat-al-Kursi embossed on stone, the stone in the courtyard of the Historical Umayyad Mosque in Aleppo.