Historic Artifacts Removed from Syria's National Museum Located in Damascus
Valuable statues and additional items have been taken from the National Museum of Syria in the capital, sources confirm.
The theft was noticed on Monday, when museum workers apparently found that a doorway had been forced from the inside.
The half-dozen taken statues were marble creations and traced back to the Roman era, one official informed the news agency.
The nation's antiquities authority said it had initiated an inquiry to identify the "circumstances surrounding the theft of a collection of exhibits", and that actions had been enacted to strengthen security and monitoring systems.
The director of national security in the capital area, General Osama Atkeh, was cited by the official media as stating that law enforcement were investigating the theft, which he said had affected several "ancient sculptures and valuable objects".
He continued that security personnel at the facility and other persons were being questioned.
The Damascus Museum, which was founded in 1919, holds the significant cultural treasures in the country.
It features historical records tracing back to the Bronze Age from an ancient city, where evidence of the oldest known writing system was found; Greco-Roman period classical statues from Palmyra, among the foremost cultural centres of the ancient world; and a ancient Jewish temple that was established at an ancient location.
The facility was compelled to shut in 2012, twelve months after the outbreak of the devastating civil war. Most of the collection was evacuated and stored at secure places to protect them.
It partially resumed in 2018 and resumed full operations in the beginning of the year, one month after rebel forces deposed the Assad regime.
Each of the six of the country's cultural landmarks were harmed or partly ruined during the conflict.
The Islamic State group blew up several ancient buildings and historical sites at Palmyra, asserting that they were un-Islamic. Unesco censured the destruction as a violation.
Numerous cultural items were also damaged or stolen from historical locations and collections.
