First, the Temple of Baalshamin, and now - as feared - the Temple of Baal, also known as Bel, at the heart of the ancient city of Palmyra. Two thousand years of cultural heritage have been reduced to rubble by the terror militia that calls itself Islamic State.

As horrible as it is, it is pointless now to ask whether UNESCO provoked the hatred of these so-called "holy warriors" by calling for the preservation of Palmyra, the "cradle of civilization." After all, they also wiped out cultural treasures in the ancient cities of Nimrud, Hatra, and Nineveh in Iraq.

Stunned archaeologists

There's also no point in accusing stunned archaeologists of caring more about stones than human lives when they now call for ground troops to be sent in to stop the unspeakable crimes being committed by IS. Such calls are a natural response to the sense of powerlessness and helplessness in the face of the destruction of Palmyra.

There is no end in sight to the civil war, the daily suffering and the loss of life in Syria. Around 250,000 people have been killed so far, while roughly 11 million others have been forced to leave their homes.

Forty percent of the population has fled the country. And despite air strikes being carried out by the US-led coalition, IS terrorists have been extending the territory under their control. The fighter jets haven't even tried to protect Palmyra, because they received no support from President Assad's troops. It would be the height of hypocrisy for the government in Damascus to accuse IS of destroying Syria's cultural legacy, considering that it didn't hesitate to bomb into the ground the Old City of Aleppo - another world heritage site - when battling rebels there.

Lack of unity among IS opponents

The fact that nothing is really being done to stop the destruction of Palmyra highlights the powerlessness of the international community to combat Islamic State. Assad's government has become too weak. And the United Nations' recently published peace plan, which would form a transitional government without Assad, now appears doomed because of Russia's ongoing support of the Syrian president.

The Arab League has also indefinitely postponed its effort to form a regional military force to fight Islamic State. All of this plays into the hands of the Islamists, who know only too well that they get just as much attention from the destruction of ancient cities as they do from their brutal execution videos.

Given this state of affairs, Syria's suffering people can only continue to flee their homes and seek asylum, in places like Europe.

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