(ANSA) - ROME, AUG 11 - Unesco denounces the risk of pregnancy to the churches carved into the rock in the city of Lalibelan in northern Ethiopia, registered in the world heritage list since 1978, due to the fighting that has intensified in the country. The monolithic, rock-hewn churches are metadays on continual pilgrimages to Lalibela, one of the most sacred cities in Ethiopia, second only to Axum. '' Lalibela is a place of pilgrimage, devotion and peace - underlines UNESCO - it must not be a place of incitement to violence and conflict ''. The 11 medieval monolithic rock churches of this 13th century "New Jerusalem" are located in a mountainous region in the heart of theEthiopia near a traditional village with circular dwellings and named after the Gebrian king Mesqel Lalibela of the late 12th and early 13th centuries of the Zagwe dynasty, who commissioned the massive project of building the rock-hewn churches to recreate the holy city of Jerusalem in the his reign.
The site still remains in use today by the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian Church and remains an important pilgrimage site for the Ethiopian Orthodox faithful. Therefore, UNESCO calls for compliance with all relevant obligations under international law in guaranteeing the protection of the exceptional universal value and legacy of this precious site by refraining from any act that could expose it to damage and taking all necessary precautions to prevent any attempted theft of cultural assets. located in the area. '(ANSA).
