Ancient Statues Removed from Syria's National Museum Located in Damascus
Valuable statues and other artefacts have been stolen from Syria's National Museum in the capital, sources confirm.
The theft was found on Monday, when employees apparently found that one of the museum's doors had been damaged from the inside.
The multiple taken statues were made of marble and traced back to the Roman period, one official informed the Associated Press.
Syria's Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums said it had opened an investigation to establish the "details surrounding the disappearance of a group of exhibits", and that steps had been enacted to enhance security and surveillance.
The chief of national security in the Damascus region, Brig-Gen Osama Atkeh, was cited by the state-run Sana news agency as stating that authorities were probing the robbery, which he said had affected several "ancient sculptures and rare collectibles".
He continued that security personnel at the facility and other persons were being interrogated.
The National Museum, which was established in 1919, contains the primary archaeological collection in the country.
It includes clay cuneiform tablets originating to the 14th Century BC from Ugarit, where evidence of the oldest known writing system was found; early centuries CE Greco-Roman sculptures from Palmyra, a significant ancient sites of the historical period; and a third century synagogue that was established at another archaeological site.
The facility was forced to close in the early 2010s, twelve months after the outbreak of the destructive conflict. A large portion of the collection was removed and preserved at secret locations to ensure their safety.
It began limited operations in 2018 and resumed full operations in the beginning of the year, one month after insurgents deposed President Bashar al-Assad.
All six of the country's cultural landmarks were affected or significantly impacted during the conflict.
The Islamic State group destroyed numerous temples and historical sites at the archaeological site, stating that they were un-Islamic. Unesco condemned the demolition as a atrocity.
Many cultural items were also lost or stolen from historical locations and collections.
