Historic Artifacts Taken from the National Museum Located in Damascus
Valuable statues and other artefacts have been stolen from the National Museum of Syria in the capital, sources confirm.
The burglary was noticed on Monday, when employees reportedly found that one of the museum's doors had been damaged from the interior.
The six missing sculptures were crafted from marble and traced back to the Roman era, a source told the news agency.
Syria's Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums said it had opened an investigation to determine the "events surrounding the theft of a collection of exhibits", and that measures had been enacted to enhance safeguarding and monitoring systems.
The chief of domestic security in the Damascus region, Brig-Gen Osama Atkeh, was cited by the government press as saying that authorities were investigating the theft, which he said had focused on several "archaeological statues and rare collectibles".
He noted that guards at the facility and other individuals were being questioned.
The National Museum, which was established in 1919, contains the primary archaeological collection in the country.
It includes clay cuneiform tablets tracing back to the ancient era from historical site, where proof of the earliest linguistic system was found; early centuries CE Greco-Roman sculptures from Palmyra, one of the most important ancient sites of the classical era; and a third century religious building that was built at Dura Europos.
The facility was compelled to shut in 2012, one year after the outbreak of the internal strife. The majority of the artifacts was removed and preserved at undisclosed sites to safeguard them.
It began limited operations in recent years and resumed full operations in early this year, a month after rebel forces overthrew Syria's former leader.
Each of the six of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were harmed or partially destroyed during the civil war.
The Islamic State group destroyed several ancient buildings and historical sites at the ancient city, claiming that they were idolatrous. Unesco denounced the destruction as a war crime.
Numerous cultural items were also lost or taken from archaeological sites and cultural institutions.
