UNESCO World Heritage meeting eyes Syria SIX ancient Syrian sites could be listed as endangered by UNESCO, which is holding its annual session to decide which global cultural and natural treasures merit World Heritage status. The main task of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation committee will be to decide whether 31 sites, including Japan's Mount Fuji and the city of Agadez in Niger, are of "outstanding universal value." Around 1300 delegates are due to attend the 10-day conference in Cambodia, which is officially opened in the capital Phnom Penh late on Sunday by Cambodian premier Hun Sen. The closing ceremony is to be held in the country's own heritage site, the temple complex of Angkor in Siem Reap. Discussion of new names to add to the already 962-strong World Heritage list is due to begin on Thursday. "About 15 sites are looking likely to be inscribed now, but you know the committee is independent ... so the figure is an estimate," UNESCO spokesman Roni Amelan told reporters in Phnom Penh on Sunday. He said the number of nominations had been reduced after Vietnam opted to withdraw its bid to list Cat Tien national park. The meeting will also highlight existing sites under threat. Syria's civil war, which has claimed some 93,000 lives and reduced huge areas to rubble, has posed a grave threat to its World Heritage sites, according to an assessment by UNESCO. The ancient cities of Aleppo, Damascus and Bosra are among the sites that have been damaged during the fighting. Amelan said there had been "very deep concern" about the situation in the country, but it was not clear what action the committee would decide to take. Australia's Great Barrier Reef is also under consideration for endangered status.