Turkish heritage sites destroyed

Within weeks, a ceasefire with Kurdish militants in southeaster Turkey shattered, unleashing some of the worst fighting in a three-decade conflict and laying waste to swathes of Diyarbakir’s ancient district of Sur. 

Sur’s ruin casts a pall over this week’s World Heritage Committee meeting in Istanbul, which lists sites for the UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation UNESCO. 

“In a year, we went from UNESCO listing ... to destruction so complete, there is no chance of return,” said Nevin Soyukaya, who helped draft the bid as head of the city’s heritage office.

Hundreds were killed and thousands displaced in security operations in Sur, the last of which ran for three straight months until March. Tanks battered its warren of medieval streets to root out rebels who dug trenches and laid explosives. 

More than 800 buildings in the 7,000-year-old city were razed, said Soyukaya.