Interview: Fall of Palmyra means "downfall of civilization," says Syrian minister

"The fall of Palmyra is the downfall of human civilization," Mamoun Abdulkarim, general director of Syrian antiquities and museums, told Xinhua in an interview on Thursday.

The interview took place a day after the Islamic State (IS) terror group claimed control over the millennia-old oasis city.

Abdulkarim blamed the IS entry into the ancient city on international inaction.

"IS knows very well that it couldn't enter the city of Palmyra if there was true international will to stop IS as they would have never succeeded in entering this historic city," Abdulkarim said.

"It's really unfortunate that IS moves freely in the Syrian desert with the whole world watching," he said. "Palmyra is not just a Syrian city but a global one."

Abdulkarim said the U.S.-led coalition could have hit the IS well before they were able to enter Palmyra.

A monitoring group reported Thursday that IS militants have taken full control of the ancient city in central Syria.

Both residential and historic sectors of Palmyra have fallen to IS. The sectors host 2,000-year-old monuments and temples, according to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

An airbase, a central prison and intelligence headquarters are all now under IS control, said the monitoring group, which says it relies on a network of activists on the ground in Syria.

About 100 government soldiers were killed Wednesday in the Palmyra battle, the group reported, saying IS militants now control half of Syria.

Syria's official al-Ekbarieh TV said Syrian National Defense Forces pulled out of Palmyra due to intense IS assaults after evacuating civilians from the city late Wednesday.

The IS offensive against Palmyra started May 13. The group has since captured the towns of Sukhneh and Amiriyeh and the al-Hail and Arak oilfields.

Abdulkarim told Xinhua that government forces managed to transfer all transportable ancient items from Palmyra to a safe area, and expressed grave concern over the fate of the old temples and monuments that cannot be moved.

"We look forward to the international community shouldering its responsibility toward Syrian cultural heritage, threatened today by armed terrorist group threats and IS, attacking and plundering artifacts and historic monuments," he said.

"We urge the international community to intervene because it's not the battle of the Syrian army alone but it's the battle of all Syrians," Abdulkarim said.

"Not only are they destroying Christian and atheist monuments, but Islamic tombs as well," Abdulkarim said.

"The fall of Palmyra is IS' victory against the international community," he said. "The IS' entry into Palmyra means that people and ancient heritage there have been taken hostage."

Palmyra, a UNESCO World Heritage site, contains monumental ruins of a city which was one of the most important cultural centers in ancient times.

From the 1st to the 2nd century, the art and architecture of Palmyra, standing at the crossroads of several civilizations, married Graeco-Roman techniques with local traditions and Persian influences, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Syria has many prehistoric, Greek, Byzantine and Islamic heritage sites.

In addition to Palmyra, UNESCO has listed several other Syrian sites on its World Heritage List, including the old cities of Damascus and Aleppo, al-Madhiq castle, the Krak des Chevaliers, the ancient city of Bosra, and ancient villages in northern Syria. Endit