A fire swept through the ancient markets in Aleppo after government troops set them on fire through shelling and gunfire. The souk, which had been considered a “World Heritage Site” by the United Nations, started burning on Friday and the fire continued to rage through Saturday.

“It’s a big loss and a tragedy that the old city has now been affected,” Kishore Rao of the United Nation’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization told the Associated Press.

Reports are estimating that up to 1,000 of the shops in the Souk al-Madina have been destroyed. The market sits below the city’s 13th Century citadel where snipers have taken positions making it too dangerous to access the souk.

Syrian government authorities cut off the water supply stopping civilians and rebels from putting out the flames.

At the same time, Syrian government forces are using heavy equipment to destroy buildings in the rebel stronghold of Hama. Troops are going into homes and forcing civilians to evacuate the city before razing their homes.

“The security forces started using artillery fire to shell several positions in the neighborhood,” a resident of Hama named Abdullah told CNN. “Some of the poorest people live here. The security forces targeted their homes indiscriminately. They really tried to make life impossible for the residents.”