Raqqa, Syria in the Summer of 2017: A Cultural Heritage Site and US-led Coalition Airstrikes

ABSTRACT Throughout the Syrian conflict, Raqqa has suffered untold losses, especially after being claimed as the capital of the so-called Islamic State. Damage to Raqqa's built cultural heritage, a component of the human right to identity and culture, is one small aspect of the city's humanitarian crisis. Raqqa's Abbasid-era wall encircling the city's historic core, a UNESCO tentative world heritage site, was the frontline in the battle for the city in the summer of 2017. This paper seeks to establish the extent of visible United States (US)-led Coalition airstrike damage to Raqqa's historic city wall through a time-series analysis of commercially available high-resolution satellite imagery. Much has been published on damage to cultural heritage in Syria, yet little has focused on damage specifically caused by US-led Coalition airstrikes. When compared with other parts of Raqqa, this paper assesses that the city wall did not suffer the same degree of airstrike damage as did its surroundings, suggesting that effort was made by the US-led Coalition to minimize damage to this heritage site. This paper considers international treaty obligations under the 1954 Hague Convention and recent US policy shifts in light of the results of this assessment.