Damascus, (AFP) – Turkish aviation damaged a UNESCO-listed Christian archaeological site in Syria, as Ankara forces launched an offensive in the north-west of the country against the Kurdish enclave Afrine, the Syrian authorities said Thursday.

The bombings conducted Wednesday night “by Turkish planes” targeted “the site of Brad, located 15 km from the city of Afrine, and inscribed on the World Heritage List since 2011,” said the Directorate General of Antiquities and museums in Syria (DGAM) on its website.

The strikes caused “the destruction of several important archaeological buildings” and among the affected structures are “the tomb of St. Maron, patron of the Maronite community, and the church of St. Julianos which houses this tomb,” according to the head of the General Directorate of Antiquities Mahmoud Hammoud.

It is “one of the oldest Christian churches in the world”, built towards the end of the fourth century, he said.

Turkey launched an offensive on January 20 to drive out the Kurdish militia of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) from its border. His forces seized Sunday the city of Afrine, chasing the YPG from the enclave.

At the end of January, a 3,000-year-old neo-Hittite temple had already been damaged by Turkish air strikes in northern Syria. Ankara then assured that the “archaeological remains” were “certainly not part of the targets” of its offensive.

In addition to the tomb of Saint-Maron, discovered in 2002 by French archaeologists, the ancient city of Brad includes several Christian remains dating from the Roman and Byzantine periods.

“This site is one of the most beautiful pages in the history of Christianity. It houses three churches, a monastery and a five-meter tower, “said Maamoun Abdul Karim, the former chief of antiquities. “Even the Mongols have not done it,” he lamented to AFP.

He had recently sounded the alarm about ancient early Christian villages inscribed on the UNESCO List of World Heritage in Danger in 2013, located in the Jabal Samaan area near the city. of Afrin.

UNESCO has repeatedly deplored “the vastness of the damage” to archaeological and cultural treasures in Syria since the beginning of the war in 2011.

The jihadist group Islamic State (EI) has destroyed the most beautiful temples of Palmyra during its occupation of the site.

The Maronite community plays a predominant political role in Lebanon, where the first disciples of Saint-Maron arrived from Syria more than 1,500 years ago.