The deliberate targeting of cultural treasures is a terrifying experience for communities that can hamper the restoration of peace, the UN’s heritage agency UNESCO warned on Monday.

Highlighting the destruction of cherished heritage in Iraq, Syria and Yemen, UNESCO’s Giovanni Boccardi said that it should be recognised as an urgent humanitarian and security issue.

Boccardi, who heads UNESCO’s Emergency Preparedness and Response Unit, told Daniel Johnson that although saving lives comes first in conflict, the importance of cultural heritage to communities should not be underestimated.

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