LONDON, 30 April 2003 — Archaeologists from around the world vowed to help Iraq rebuild its shattered national heritage at a meeting in London yesterday. Curators from St. Petersburg, Berlin, Paris and New York flew to London to meet Donny George, research director of the Iraq Museum, and offer practical help in tracking down looted treasures and restoring damaged antiquities.
The Iraqi National Museum in Baghdad, which housed priceless artifacts from ancient Mesopotamia, was ransacked in a wave of looting that swept the Iraqi capital after the fall of President Saddam Hussein. “This is without question the greatest disaster for a national collection since World War II,” said Dr. Neil MacGregor, director of the British Museum. He acknowledged there was a flourishing trade in Mesopotamian antiquities from the cradle of civilization.
Antiquity experts believe organized criminal gangs may have been behind some of the looting. Interpol has launched a worldwide hunt for priceless Iraqi antiquities and warned art collectors not to buy art treasures they suspect are stolen. British and US forces have been criticized by Iraq’s museum staff and antiquities experts for failing to protect museums and archaeological sites.
Meanwhile, US troops are fighting shadows near the Iraq-Iran border amid a mounting war of words between Tehran and Washington over alleged infiltration of Iranian agents. US artillery fired flares before dawn yesterday over Baqubah, capital of Diyala province bordering Iran, in a failed bid to identify a group of armed men seen approaching a US-held building in the town. A few hours later, a quick reaction force of mechanized infantry was dispatched from a base outside Baqubah after mortar rounds exploded nearby. The source of the firing remains unknown.
In another part of the town, a platoon of infantry heard gunfire and saw three armed men running away down an alley. The soldiers gave chase but the men disappeared before they could be identified. Officers with the US Fourth Infantry Division (4ID) say they are struggling to identify possible hostile forces following the collapse of the Iraqi regime.
