A 7.8-magnitude earthquake tore through Türkiye and Syria on Monday, Feb. 6, 2023, claiming the lives of more than 28,000 people as of Sunday afternoon. Local and international search and rescue teams have been working around the clock to pull more from the rubble.

The devastating temblor damaged the old city of Aleppo in Syria and the fortress in the city of Diyarbakir in Türkiye, both of which are listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The UN body says at least three more World Heritage Sites not far from the epicenter could also be affected, including the Neolithic site of Göbekli Tepe in Sanliurfa province, the Nemrut Dağ site, and Tell of Arslantepe outside Malatya.

Aleppo City served as a prewar commercial hub in Syria and was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1986. It has been on the List of World Heritage in Danger since 2013 due to the Syrian civil war. "Significant damage has been noted in the citadel. The western tower of the old city wall has collapsed and several buildings in the souks have been weakened," UNESCO reported.

Diyarbakir Fortress and the adjacent Hevsel Gardens have collapsed in Türkiye. Both were named World Heritage Sites in 2015. The fortifications of this historic fortress are almost the widest and longest complete defensive walls in the world, after only the Great Wall of China.

UNESCO is working on a precise inventory of the damaged archaeological sites to secure them and the thousands of years of history they represent, as they have served as iconic tourist attractions for decades. "Our organization will provide assistance within its mandate," said UNESCO director-general Audrey Azoulay.