Marauding in Iraq organized the mafia, says UNESCO

Most of the exhibits of the Iraqi National Museum were plundered by members of organized crime. This conclusion was reached by the participants of the UNESCO headquarters in the UNESCO headquarters on assessing the damage caused by the war by the cultural heritage of Iraq.

The Chairman of the American Association on the study of Baghdad McGir Gibson, who took part in the meeting, said: "It seems that at least some of the abductions were a pre -planned action." In his opinion, there could be groups that plundered historical objects over the past 12 years, transporting the looted to international markets.

The meeting participants called for the forces of the anti -Irac coalition to observe the principles of the Hague Convention on the protection of cultural values ​​in the conditions of war, Interfax reports.

The statement adopted at the meeting says that its participants "with regret and deep shock learned about the serious damage caused by the cultural heritage of Iraq as a result of the last military conflict."

In addition, the participants in the meeting called for the ban on the export of antiques from Iraq, as well as other cultural values.