Concern is growing over the threat to the Roman antiquities of Sabratha after Isil supporters temporarily occupied the Libyan town. The site, renowned for its third-century AD theatre and temples, lies 70 kilometres west of Tripoli.
On 10 December, pro-Isil militants took control of part of the modern town of Sabratha for a few hours to free several members who had been seized by a rival militia. The Isil supporters then left. Libya’s anti-government Islamic militants have aligned with Isil in Iraq and Syria and run training camps just outside of Sabratha, which lies near the Tunisian border.
After the recent destruction of antiquities by Isil extremists in Iraq (Mosul, Nineveh, Nimrud and Hatra) and Syria (Palmyra), there is great concern about Libya. Sabratha, a Unesco World Heritage Site, was a Phoenician trading centre in the fifth-century BC and later became an important Roman port.
