United Nations News Centre, 18 September 2013

Experts from the United Nations cultural agency have confirmed that nearly all the collections of the Malawi National Museum in Upper Egypt have been looted following last month’s unrest.

“While the buildings were not badly damaged, 600 of the Museum’s collection of 1080 artefacts were missing,” the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said in a statement following a visit of its experts to Minya.

The mission, organized with the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities and local authorities, follows the 18 August statement of UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova on the museum’s looting [....]

During the visit, from 11 to 16 September, the International Expert and UNESCO Consultant, Architect Pierre-André Lablaude, and a UNESCO expert also visited other cultural sites damaged during recent unrest, among them, the Evangelical Church in Minya, Amir Tadros Monastery in Fayoum and the Franciscan Sisters School in Beni Suef.

Some other significant churches could not be visited for security reasons [....]