UNESCO urges Egypt to protect humanity’s cultural heritage

 The United Nations on Tuesday called on authorities and protesters in Egypt to protect the country's cultural heritage as hundreds of thousands of demonstrators demanded the departure of President Hosny Mubarak.

'Egypt's cultural heritage, whether it be monuments or objects, is a part of humanity's heritage, passed down to us through the ages,' Irina Bokova, director general of the Paris-based United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, said in a statement.

The 'incalculable' value of the 120,000 artifacts on display in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo had been demonstrated by the hundreds of Cairo residents who formed a human chain around the museum on Saturday, Bokova added.