Ancient Artifacts Taken from the National Museum Located in Damascus
Historic sculptures and cultural objects have been removed from the National Museum of Syria in Damascus, sources confirm.
The theft was discovered on Monday, when staff allegedly found that a doorway had been forced from the interior.
The half-dozen stolen statues were marble creations and dated back to the Roman era, one official told the news agency.
The nation's antiquities authority said it had opened an investigation to establish the "circumstances surrounding the theft of a group of artifacts", and that steps had been implemented to strengthen protection and surveillance.
The chief of internal security in the capital area, Brig-Gen Osama Atkeh, was quoted by the official media as declaring that law enforcement were examining the theft, which he said had targeted several "historical artifacts and rare collectibles".
He added that security personnel at the institution and additional people were being interrogated.
The cultural institution, which was created in the early twentieth century, holds the primary cultural treasures in the country.
It contains clay cuneiform tablets originating to the 14th Century BC from an ancient city, where proof of the most ancient linguistic system was discovered; 1st and 2nd Century AD classical statues from Palmyra, one of the most important historical locations of the ancient world; and a 3rd Century AD Jewish temple that was established at another archaeological site.
The facility was had to cease operations in 2012, twelve months after the outbreak of the destructive conflict. A large portion of the holdings was evacuated and stored at secure places to safeguard them.
It began limited operations in 2018 and returned to normal in the beginning of the year, one month after opposition groups deposed Syria's former leader.
Each of the six of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were damaged or partially destroyed during the conflict.
The IS organization blew up several religious structures and historical sites at the archaeological site, asserting that they were idolatrous. Unesco denounced the damage as a war crime.
Numerous cultural items were also lost or taken from historical locations and cultural institutions.