Italy’s minister for culture has backed plans for the creation of a UN peacekeeping force to protect heritage sites across the world, following the destruction of Iraq’s ancient cities by the Islamic State (ISIS).

“A sort of ‘blue helmets of culture’ are needed, as there are blue helmets that intervene to protect in situations of war,” said Dario Franceschini, speaking to The Guardian, referring to uniforms worn by the UN’s peacekeepers.

“There should be an international rapid response force to defend monuments and archaeological sites in conflict zones.”

Iraq’s heritage has been at the mercy of ISIS as the terrorist group wages war on the Middle East. Most recently, Iraq’s tourism and antiquities minister, Adel Fahad al-Shershab, called on the US-led coalition carrying out air strikes against the radical Islamic State (IS) to protect the country’s archaeological sites from the group.

UNESCO also recently called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss how to protect Iraq's cultural heritage. The world heritage body previously suggested the formation of protected cultural zones – areas where there would be an enhanced focus on preventing attacks on cultural heritage and illicit trafficking in cultural properties.

ISIS has levelled entire ancient cities on its warpath, decimating historical collections. The group recently destroyed a selection of priceless artefacts in Mosul, prompting the looted Iraq Museum to be reopened ahead of schedule after a 12-year closure. The group then bulldozed the 13th century BC city of Nimrud, followed closely by the fortress city of Hatra, which is more than 2,000 years old and is a UNESCO world heritage site.

“At one time great monuments were hit accidentally in wars, during bombing. Now they’re hit precisely because they are symbols of culture, symbols of a religion,” added Franceschini, who also said that a protective force could not be established by one country, rather an international community.

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