Valuable Artifacts Stolen from the National Museum in Damascus
Ancient statues and other artefacts have been stolen from Syria's National Museum in Damascus, officials say.
The burglary was noticed on Monday, when employees reportedly found that a doorway had been forced from the interior.
The six stolen pieces were marble creations and traced back to the ancient Roman times, a source informed the media outlet.
Cultural heritage officials said it had initiated an inquiry to identify the "circumstances surrounding the loss of a number of exhibits", and that measures had been enacted to enhance security and monitoring systems.
The chief of domestic security in the Damascus region, Brig-Gen Osama Atkeh, was quoted by the government press as declaring that authorities were examining the robbery, which he said had affected several "ancient sculptures and valuable objects".
He continued that security personnel at the facility and additional people were being questioned.
The National Museum, which was established in the early twentieth century, contains the most important historical artifacts in Syria.
It features historical records dating back to the ancient era from an ancient city, where evidence of the oldest known linguistic system was found; Greco-Roman period ancient art from Palmyra, a significant ancient sites of the historical period; and a 3rd Century AD synagogue that was built at an ancient location.
The facility was had to cease operations in the early 2010s, one year after the start of the devastating civil war. A large portion of the collection was transferred and stored at undisclosed sites to safeguard them.
It partially resumed in recent years and returned to normal in early this year, a month after insurgents removed the Assad regime.
All six of the country's cultural landmarks were affected or partially destroyed during the conflict.
The Islamic State group demolished several temples and additional edifices at the ancient city, asserting that they were un-Islamic. Unesco censured the demolition as a atrocity.
Many artefacts were also damaged or taken from archaeological sites and cultural institutions.
