Historic Statues Removed from the National Museum in Damascus
Valuable sculptures and cultural objects have been taken from the National Museum of Syria in Damascus, sources confirm.
The theft was found on the start of the week, when employees reportedly found that a doorway had been broken from the inside.
The multiple stolen statues were made of marble and traced back to the Roman period, an authority told the Associated Press.
The nation's antiquities authority said it had launched a probe to identify the "details surrounding the loss of a number of items", and that measures had been implemented to strengthen security and surveillance.
The head of internal security in the capital area, General Osama Atkeh, was quoted by the official media as saying that authorities were examining the theft, which he said had targeted several "ancient sculptures and rare collectibles".
He continued that guards at the museum and additional people were being interrogated.
The National Museum, which was established in 1919, holds the primary historical artifacts in the country.
It features ancient inscribed tablets tracing back to the ancient era from an ancient city, where proof of the oldest known linguistic system was found; Greco-Roman period classical statues from historical site, among the foremost historical locations of the historical period; and a ancient synagogue that was constructed at an ancient location.
The facility was forced to close in the early 2010s, one year after the outbreak of the devastating civil war. A large portion of the artifacts was evacuated and kept at undisclosed sites to protect them.
It partially resumed in recent years and returned to normal in early this year, one month after rebel forces deposed the Assad regime.
Each of the six of the country's cultural landmarks were damaged or partly ruined during the conflict.
The militant faction blew up numerous religious structures and other structures at Palmyra, asserting that they were idolatrous. Unesco condemned the damage as a war crime.
Countless artefacts were also destroyed or looted from historical locations and museums.