The conflict has now been going on for almost 10 months.
Unesco said it was "
seriously concerned about the protection of the world heritage site of the rock-carved churches of Lalibela, following reports of the extension of the conflict
", in a tweet published by the organization on Tuesday. of the UN for education, science and culture, based in Paris, in reaction to the capture of the city by the forces of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).
Read also: In Ethiopia, the rebels take control of Lalibela and its churches carved in the rock
Lalibela, an iconic city in the Amhara region, famous for its rock-hewn churches, was captured last Thursday by rebel forces from the warring region of Tigray, who advanced into neighboring regions.
Faced with the advance of the TPLF, Ethiopia threatened to deploy "
its full defense capacity
".
In a press release published on its website on Friday, Unesco had called "
to refrain from any act which could expose
this place of"
pilgrimage, devotion and peace
"
to damage
" and requested that all "
the necessary precautions be taken to prevent any attempt at looting and looting of cultural property located in this area
”.
"New Jerusalem"
The eleven medieval monolithic cave churches of this 13th-century New Jerusalem are located in a mountainous region in the heart of Ethiopia, near a traditional village with circular dwellings. The Mecca of Ethiopian Christianity, the site of the rock-carved churches of Lalibela was "
inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1978
", recalls the organization.
The churches of Lalibela are unique and are located below ground level, surrounded by deep dry moats.
Only their roofs are visible from the surface.
The courtyards surrounding these extraordinary places of worship are only accessible by stairs and tunnels.
Formed in a single block, they are full of ornaments and windows carved in the shape of a cross.
Lalibela takes its name from King Gebre Mesqel Lalibela, whose legend has it that he built eleven churches with the help of angels after God ordered him to build a "
New Jerusalem
".
Located 680 km from Addis Ababa, Lalibela is a popular destination with foreign tourists and Ethiopian Orthodox.
The Orthodox religion is the most practiced in the country which has 112 million inhabitants.
A man prays inside the church of Bet Medhane Alem, in the Lalibela region. DPA / ABACA