World News for Students of English

30-06-2015 15:00

Sacrilegious, used by some to describe the target, as much a summary of the attackers. Islamic State militants have blown up two ancient shrines in Palmyra which they consider to be profane. This is a 2,000 year-old UNESCO World Heritage Site in central Syria. It’s the first known report of the militants damaging the buildings in the city since they seized control of it in May.

“We don’t have access to the crime scene, so we cannot know precisely who did what. We’ve interviews, we’ve information, but our conclusion is that nobody respects, that no group respects the rules of engagement in hostilities.”

Investigators for the United Nations say both Syrian military and rebel groups including Islamic State have imposed sieges to devastating effect. This has displaced some 420,000 Syrians, depriving them of food and medicine and leading to malnutrition and starvation.

Islamic

State militants are presumed to control large portions of Iraq and Syria. Before the militants took over Palmyra, hundreds of statues were removed from the city to safe locations.

The militants continue in their attempts to erase history. Only then will the violence nightmare of fighting become their dream of creating a veritable Islamic State.

Difficult words: sacrilegious (committing sacrilege violation of something sacred – godly), shrine (a holy place), profane (not holy), seize (to take hold of), precisely (exactly), rules of engagement (agreed rules of how to fight), hostilities (acts of warfare), impose (to put into place), siege (a military operation), displace (to force somebody to leave), deprive (to deny), malnutrition (lack of nutrition – food), starvation (suffering caused by hunger), attempt to (try), veritable (true).

Source: www.ondemandnews.com