SANAA, Yemen — One of the oldest civilizations in the world in one of the poorest and most troubled countries of the Middle East is facing a tough cultural crisis. Yemen, which extends over a surface area of 528,000 square kilometers (204,000 square miles), abounds with the antiquities of various cultures, the oldest of which dates back 3,000 years. The civil war that the Arab coalition, led by Saudi Arabia, is participating in, alongside President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi’s government, is a scar in humanity’s civilization.

An overview of the Old City of Sanaa that is on the UNESCO's World Heritage List shows the extent to which the city and its heritage have been tarnished by the missiles of fighters. Over 6,000 historical houses whose renovation dates back to nine centuries have been reduced to remnants and occupy a surface area on which five houses were built before an Arab coalition missile hit them.

In mid-June 2015, Saudi-led military coalition airstrikes bombed the historic al-Qasimi neighborhood in Sanaa's city center, destroying five historic houses. Irina Bokova, director-general of UNESCO, said in a statement published June 12 that she was distressed by the damage done to the oldest jewels of Islamic civilization and called on all parties to keep the heritage sites out of the circle of conflict.

The neighborhood is one of dozens of historic archaeological sites in Yemen destroyed by the coalition airstrikes and local attacks resulting from the armed conflict between supporters of Hadi, the internationally recognized president, and the armed Houthis and their ally, former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.