Valuable Statues Removed from the National Museum in Damascus
Valuable artifacts and additional items have been taken from Syria's National Museum in Damascus, sources confirm.
The theft was noticed on the start of the week, when staff allegedly found that an entrance had been broken from the interior.
The six missing pieces were crafted from marble and dated back to the ancient Roman times, one official stated to the Associated Press.
Syria's Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums said it had opened an investigation to establish the "circumstances surrounding the disappearance of a group of exhibits", and that steps had been enacted to improve safeguarding and observation methods.
The chief of domestic security in the Damascus region, General Osama Atkeh, was referenced by the government press as saying that authorities were examining the robbery, which he said had targeted several "ancient sculptures and rare collectibles".
He continued that security personnel at the facility and other persons were being questioned.
The cultural institution, which was established in 1919, holds the most important cultural treasures in the country.
It includes clay cuneiform tablets tracing back to the Bronze Age from historical site, where proof of the oldest known complete alphabet was found; 1st and 2nd Century AD classical statues from Palmyra, among the foremost ancient sites of the ancient world; and a third century Jewish temple that was built at Dura Europos.
The facility was forced to close in the early 2010s, a year after the start of the destructive conflict. Most 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 rebel forces removed President Bashar al-Assad.
Each of the six of the country's cultural landmarks were affected or partially destroyed during the conflict.
The militant faction blew up numerous religious structures and additional edifices at Palmyra, asserting that they were against their beliefs. The cultural organization censured the destruction as a war crime.
Many cultural items were also lost or looted from historical locations and collections.
