The Committee that establishes the locations that are listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, has added the Old Towns of Djenne in Mali to the List of World Heritage in Danger, due to insecurity, which is affecting the area and preventing the implementation of protective measures for the site. 
"The Committee expressed concern over the property, which is situated in an area affected by insecurity," said the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in a statement Wednesday, referring to the latest decision by the World Heritage Committee. 
"This situation is preventing safeguarding measures from addressing issues that include the deterioration of construction materials in the historic town, urbanization, and the erosion of the archaeological site," said UNESCO The statement also noted that Committee appealed to the international community to support Mali in efforts to ensure the protection of the site. 
Inhabited since 250 B.C., the Old Towns of Djenne became a market centre and an important link in the trans-Saharan gold trade. In the 15th and 16th centuries, it was one of the centres for the propagation of Islam. Its traditional houses, of which nearly 2,000 have survived, are built on hillocks (toguere) as protection from the seasonal floods. 
The site located, in the Inland Niger Delta region of central Mali, was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1988. 
The 40th session of the World Heritage Committee began on 10 July and will continue until 20 July in Istanbul.

Source: QNA