Antiquities Minister Mohamed Ibrahim has said that the United Nation’s culture body will send experts this week to assess damages sustained by Cairo’s Islamic Art Museum after an explosion hit the nearby Cairo Security Directorate Friday.
An explosion claimed by Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis hit the directorate Friday, killing four people.
Ibrahim, during a tour at the museum Saturday morning, said UNESCO’s team will measure the damages before deciding the size of aid needed for renovations.
The minister revealed that UNESCO’s chief, Irina Bokova, had offered an urgent US$100,000 aid from the organization’s budget for restoration purposes. He said the grant is a prelude to an international fundraising campaign for restoring the museum, which seeks to collect a preliminary LE100 million.
Ibrahim noted that only the museum’s eastern area was relatively damaged and parts of its wooden ceiling fell down, adding that workers are taking stock of its contents.
Edited translation from MENA
