The city of Mosul is intertwined with human history, tracing its roots to 4,400 years ago when civilisation rose in fabled, fertile Mesopotamia. Today, as Iraqi forces backed by an international coalition inch forward in their fight to recover Mosul from the Islamic State (IS) group, historians are looking at how to save, repair or retrieve precious heritage after the jihadists` three-year reign. At a meeting in Paris last week, Iraqi officials and dozens of experts from around the world agreed to coordinate efforts to restore Iraq`s cultural treasure. But, they admitted, the road ahead will be hard and long. `The main challenge is for Iraqis to deal with this task by themselves. It is important to empower the people,` said Stefan Simon, director of global cultural heritage initiatives at Yale university. `It is a heart-breaking situation,` he added. `(...) Rehabilitation will take a very long time. They need patience. `
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