These activists want buyers and dealers of stolen relics to face criminal charges

A still from a video by The Clooney Foundation for Justice showing the Ain Dara archeological site storage and warehouse in the northern Aleppo Governorate, in Syria. The facility was later looted by various armed groups and bulldozed at some point between 2019 and 2020. (The Clooney Foundation for Justice)

It's common knowledge that armed non-state groups in the Middle East bankroll themselves with oil and ransom money. But a close third in the pipeline that fuels warlords and terrorists globally? The plunder and sale of antiquities.

If activists have their way, the buyers and dealers of those stolen cultural relics will face criminal repercussions.