Historic Artifacts Stolen from Syria's National Museum in Damascus
Valuable statues and cultural objects have been taken from the National Museum of Syria in Damascus, authorities report.
The burglary was discovered on Monday, when employees allegedly found that a doorway had been damaged from the interior.
The six taken statues were marble creations and dated back to the Roman period, a source informed the Associated Press.
Cultural heritage officials said it had launched a probe to determine the "circumstances surrounding the loss of a number of items", and that steps had been enacted to improve safeguarding and monitoring systems.
The chief of internal security in the Damascus region, Security Chief Atkeh, was referenced by the official media as saying that authorities were probing the robbery, which he said had targeted several "historical artifacts and rare collectibles".
He noted that museum protectors at the institution and other individuals were being interrogated.
The National Museum, which was founded in the early twentieth century, holds the most important archaeological collection in Syria.
It includes historical records dating back to the 14th Century BC from historical site, where evidence of the most ancient writing system was uncovered; 1st and 2nd Century AD ancient art from historical site, among the foremost cultural centres of the ancient world; and a ancient synagogue that was established at another archaeological site.
The museum was had to cease operations in the early 2010s, one year after the start of the internal strife. Most of the artifacts was removed and stored at secure places to protect them.
It began limited operations in 2018 and resumed full operations in early this year, a month after opposition groups overthrew Syria's former leader.
Every one of nationally recognized sites were damaged or partially destroyed during the conflict.
The IS organization demolished multiple ancient buildings and historical sites at the ancient city, stating that they were un-Islamic. Unesco condemned the destruction as a war crime.
Many historical objects were also destroyed or looted from dig sites and collections.
