Historic Sculptures Taken from the National Museum in Damascus
Historic sculptures and cultural objects have been taken from Syria's National Museum in Damascus, authorities report.
The theft was noticed on the start of the week, when museum workers allegedly found that one of the museum's doors had been broken from the interior.
The multiple missing statues were marble creations and traced back to the Roman period, one official informed the media outlet.
The nation's antiquities authority said it had initiated an inquiry to establish the "details surrounding the loss of a group of artifacts", and that steps had been enacted to strengthen safeguarding and monitoring systems.
The head of internal security in the capital area, Brig-Gen Osama Atkeh, was quoted by the government press as stating that authorities were investigating the incident, which he said had affected several "historical artifacts and valuable objects".
He noted that museum protectors at the institution and additional people were being questioned.
The Damascus Museum, which was established in the early twentieth century, houses the significant historical artifacts in Syria.
It includes clay cuneiform tablets tracing back to the ancient era from an ancient city, where indications of the earliest linguistic system was discovered; early centuries CE ancient art from the ancient city, one of the most important historical locations of the classical era; and a third century synagogue that was constructed at Dura Europos.
The museum was compelled to shut in 2012, a year after the beginning of the devastating civil war. The majority of the artifacts was transferred and stored at secure places to safeguard them.
It partially resumed in 2018 and resumed full operations in early this year, one month after rebel forces overthrew the Assad regime.
Each of the six of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were affected or significantly impacted during the civil war.
The IS organization destroyed several temples and historical sites at Palmyra, asserting that they were un-Islamic. The cultural organization denounced the damage as a violation.
Numerous cultural items were also damaged or stolen from dig sites and collections.
