Valuable Statues Stolen from the National Museum Located in Damascus
Historic statues and cultural objects have been removed from the National Museum of Syria in Damascus, sources confirm.
The burglary was found on the start of the week, when museum workers allegedly found that a doorway had been forced from the inside.
The multiple stolen pieces were marble creations and dated back to the Roman period, an authority informed the Associated Press.
Cultural heritage officials said it had launched a probe to determine the "details surrounding the disappearance of a number of exhibits", and that measures had been enacted to strengthen security and monitoring systems.
The director of national security in the Damascus region, Brig-Gen Osama Atkeh, was referenced by the official media as saying that security forces were investigating the incident, which he said had affected several "historical artifacts and rare collectibles".
He continued that guards at the museum and other individuals were being questioned.
The National Museum, which was established in the early twentieth century, contains the primary historical artifacts in Syria.
It features historical records tracing back to the 14th Century BC from historical site, where evidence of the most ancient complete alphabet was uncovered; Greco-Roman period classical statues from Palmyra, a significant cultural centres of the ancient world; and a 3rd Century AD synagogue that was established at another archaeological site.
The facility was had to cease operations in the early 2010s, one year after the outbreak of the devastating civil war. A large portion of the collection was evacuated and preserved at secure places to ensure their safety.
It reopened partially in 2018 and returned to normal in early this year, one month after insurgents deposed the Assad regime.
All six of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were affected or partially destroyed during the civil war.
The militant faction demolished multiple ancient buildings and historical sites at the archaeological site, claiming that they were un-Islamic. The cultural organization censured the destruction as a violation.
Numerous artefacts were also destroyed or stolen from dig sites and collections.
