Sunday, 11 March, 2001, 23:12 GMT
Giant Buddha statues 'blown up'
The statues had stood guard over the Bamiyan
valley for centuries
Afghanistan's ruling Taleban have blown up two giant Buddha statues in defiance of international efforts to save them, according to independent reports.
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in Pakistan on a tour of the region, described the Taleban's acts as a disservice to themselves and to Islam.
Reports say the demolition of the ancient monuments near Bamiyan - one thought to be the tallest of its kind in the world - was supervised by the Taleban's defence minister over the last few days.
The Taleban's foreign minister, Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil, told Mr Annan in Pakistan that demolition was still continuing, though not much of the ancient treasures was left.
"Basically he confirmed that all movable statues have been destroyed and the destruction of the two [giant] statues had begun, but he could not tell me the status of the demolition," Mr Annan said.
Two-day demolition
But an aid worker quoted by the AP news agency said witnesses told him the destruction was now complete.
The larger, 53-metre (175-feet) statue was blown up on Thursday, and the smaller 38-metre (120-feet) destroyed the following day.
The aid worker said the work was "professionally done".
The extent of the damage is hard to confirm, as the militia have blocked journalists from visiting the province.
The monuments, once a big tourist draw, dated back to between the second and fifth centuries AD, before the coming of Islam, when Afghanistan was a centre of Buddhist learning and pilgrimage.
The statues are among
Asia's great archaeological
treasures
[more]