Ancient Statues Removed from Syria's National Museum Located in Damascus
Valuable sculptures and other artefacts have been stolen from Syria's National Museum in Damascus, authorities report.
The theft was noticed on Monday, when museum workers allegedly found that one of the museum's doors had been forced from the interior.
The six missing statues were marble creations and traced back to the ancient Roman times, an authority told the media outlet.
Cultural heritage officials said it had launched a probe to identify the "details surrounding the theft of a group of items", and that measures had been implemented to strengthen safeguarding and surveillance.
The director of national security in the Damascus region, Security Chief Atkeh, was cited by the official media as saying that law enforcement were probing the theft, which he said had affected several "archaeological statues and unique items".
He continued that guards at the institution and additional people were being interviewed.
The Damascus Museum, which was created in the early twentieth century, holds the most important cultural treasures in Syria.
It features clay cuneiform tablets dating back to the ancient era from an ancient city, where evidence of the most ancient linguistic system was discovered; 1st and 2nd Century AD ancient art from the ancient city, among the foremost ancient sites of the historical period; and a third century Jewish temple that was built at Dura Europos.
The institution was compelled to shut in the early 2010s, twelve months after the outbreak of the devastating civil war. Most of the artifacts was evacuated and stored at secure places to safeguard them.
It reopened partially in 2018 and resumed full operations in the beginning of the year, one month after opposition groups removed Syria's former leader.
Each of the six of nationally recognized sites were damaged or significantly impacted during the internal struggle.
The IS organization blew up several temples and additional edifices at Palmyra, stating that they were idolatrous. The cultural organization denounced the demolition as a war crime.
Countless historical objects were also destroyed or stolen from historical locations and collections.
