07:11Iraq: 'The largest looting in modern history'- Authorities recall ransacking of National Museum during US military intervention
Iraqi cultural authorities spoke with Ruptly at the National Museum in Baghdad on Friday, and recalled the looting of the institution by a mob in 2003. It comes ahead of the 20th anniversary of the US military intervention in Iraq.
“The Iraqi National Museum was subject to the largest looting in modern history. The most important cultural reservoir in the most important home of civilisations has been stolen,” said Professor Abbas Abd Mandil, assistant Director General of the Iraqi Museums Department and member of the Executive Office of the Arab Organisation of Museums.
Thousands of valuable antiquities were taken from the National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad when it was ransacked during the US military operation in 2003.
“The US forces had a weak role back then, and the Iraqi government authorities were greatly impaired as well. This facilitated the looting of the National Museum,” added Abbas Abd Mandil.
In April 2003, looters rampaged through the Iraq's National Museum for three days, reportedly stealing some 15,000 artifacts, many of them dating back to the great civilisations of Babylon and Mesopotamia.
Reports from witnesses claimed that US troops didn’t take any measures to prevent the looting of Iraq's heritage, and stood by as the museum was sacked. The US army also ignored warnings from its own civilian advisers that could have stopped the looting of priceless artifacts in Baghdad, according to the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance (ORHA).
“This was a pre-planned and systematic theft. The area in which the National Museum was located is supposed to be a very restricted area, and the US troops were stationed near the Museum, yet they allowed the mob to break into the facility and loot the items that represent human values,” explained Maher Tamer al-Jaberi, history researcher.
Pentagon officials claimed that looting happened while troops were engaged in ground fighting and therefore unable to provide security, and gave assurances that coalition forces avoided targeting them during the war.
“As you know, in 2003, the security conditions deteriorated, and chaos prevailed. There was a limited and insufficient number of employees who were responsible for securing and defending the archaeological items against loot and sabotage. For this reason, they left the facility to be looted and sabotaged,” added Maher Tamer al-Jaberi.
Donald Rumsfeld, the then-secretary of defence, called the looting in Baghdad an 'unfortunate thing', adding that "freedom's untidy, and free people are free to make mistakes and commit crimes and do bad things.”
According to the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, drafted in 1954, an occupying power must take necessary measures to safeguard and preserve the cultural property of the occupied country.
The International Council of Museums issued an emergency warning on the smuggling of Iraqi artifacts out of the country.
On March 19, 2003, Washington, along with coalition forces, launched a military offensive on Iraq that toppled Saddam Hussein under the pretext of disarming Iraq’s presumed weapons of mass destruction, plunging Iraq into bloodshed and chaos, resulting in the violent deaths of around 200,000 civilians, according to the Iraq Body Count project, although there are other estimations both above and below that figure.
This was preceded by a series of developments that eventually led to the US deploying its army in the Arab country. On January 28, George W Bush addressed the nation making it clear that the US military campaign to topple Saddam Hussein was only a matter of time.
The US officially withdrew its troops from Iraq by December 2011, but thousands remained as part of security operations or serving as private military contractors. The aftermath of the intervention in the country triggered widespread violence and was linked to the rise of the Islamic State (IS).
07:11Iraqi cultural authorities spoke with Ruptly at the National Museum in Baghdad on Friday, and recalled the looting of the institution by a mob in 2003. It comes ahead of the 20th anniversary of the US military intervention in Iraq.
“The Iraqi National Museum was subject to the largest looting in modern history. The most important cultural reservoir in the most important home of civilisations has been stolen,” said Professor Abbas Abd Mandil, assistant Director General of the Iraqi Museums Department and member of the Executive Office of the Arab Organisation of Museums.
Thousands of valuable antiquities were taken from the National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad when it was ransacked during the US military operation in 2003.
“The US forces had a weak role back then, and the Iraqi government authorities were greatly impaired as well. This facilitated the looting of the National Museum,” added Abbas Abd Mandil.
In April 2003, looters rampaged through the Iraq's National Museum for three days, reportedly stealing some 15,000 artifacts, many of them dating back to the great civilisations of Babylon and Mesopotamia.
Reports from witnesses claimed that US troops didn’t take any measures to prevent the looting of Iraq's heritage, and stood by as the museum was sacked. The US army also ignored warnings from its own civilian advisers that could have stopped the looting of priceless artifacts in Baghdad, according to the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance (ORHA).
“This was a pre-planned and systematic theft. The area in which the National Museum was located is supposed to be a very restricted area, and the US troops were stationed near the Museum, yet they allowed the mob to break into the facility and loot the items that represent human values,” explained Maher Tamer al-Jaberi, history researcher.
Pentagon officials claimed that looting happened while troops were engaged in ground fighting and therefore unable to provide security, and gave assurances that coalition forces avoided targeting them during the war.
“As you know, in 2003, the security conditions deteriorated, and chaos prevailed. There was a limited and insufficient number of employees who were responsible for securing and defending the archaeological items against loot and sabotage. For this reason, they left the facility to be looted and sabotaged,” added Maher Tamer al-Jaberi.
Donald Rumsfeld, the then-secretary of defence, called the looting in Baghdad an 'unfortunate thing', adding that "freedom's untidy, and free people are free to make mistakes and commit crimes and do bad things.”
According to the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, drafted in 1954, an occupying power must take necessary measures to safeguard and preserve the cultural property of the occupied country.
The International Council of Museums issued an emergency warning on the smuggling of Iraqi artifacts out of the country.
On March 19, 2003, Washington, along with coalition forces, launched a military offensive on Iraq that toppled Saddam Hussein under the pretext of disarming Iraq’s presumed weapons of mass destruction, plunging Iraq into bloodshed and chaos, resulting in the violent deaths of around 200,000 civilians, according to the Iraq Body Count project, although there are other estimations both above and below that figure.
This was preceded by a series of developments that eventually led to the US deploying its army in the Arab country. On January 28, George W Bush addressed the nation making it clear that the US military campaign to topple Saddam Hussein was only a matter of time.
The US officially withdrew its troops from Iraq by December 2011, but thousands remained as part of security operations or serving as private military contractors. The aftermath of the intervention in the country triggered widespread violence and was linked to the rise of the Islamic State (IS).