Historic Statues Stolen from Syria's National Museum Located in Damascus
Historic artifacts and additional items have been removed from Syria's National Museum in the capital, sources confirm.
The burglary was noticed on the start of the week, when employees apparently found that one of the museum's doors had been damaged from the interior.
The six missing statues were crafted from marble and traced back to the Roman period, one official informed the media outlet.
Syria's Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums said it had initiated an inquiry to establish the "details surrounding the theft of a group of items", and that measures had been enacted to improve security and observation methods.
The head of internal security in the Damascus region, General Osama Atkeh, was referenced by the government press as declaring that security forces were investigating the theft, which he said had focused on several "historical artifacts and rare collectibles".
He continued that guards at the institution and other individuals were being interrogated.
The Damascus Museum, which was founded in 1919, contains the primary archaeological collection in the country.
It contains historical records dating back to the ancient era from an ancient city, where indications of the oldest known linguistic system was discovered; early centuries CE classical statues from historical site, one of the most important historical locations of the ancient world; and a ancient Jewish temple that was constructed at an ancient location.
The institution was compelled to shut in 2012, one year after the beginning of the internal strife. Most of the artifacts was evacuated and preserved at secure places to protect them.
It partially resumed in 2018 and returned to normal in early this year, four weeks after rebel forces deposed President Bashar al-Assad.
Each of the six of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were harmed or partly ruined during the civil war.
The IS organization destroyed several ancient buildings and historical sites at the archaeological site, stating that they were un-Islamic. The cultural organization denounced the destruction as a atrocity.
Many artefacts were also damaged or taken from archaeological sites and cultural institutions.
