Ancient Statues Taken from the National Museum Located in Damascus
Valuable statues and cultural objects have been stolen from Syria's National Museum in Damascus, officials say.
The robbery was noticed on Monday, when employees allegedly found that a doorway had been broken from the interior.
The half-dozen missing sculptures were crafted from marble and traced back to the ancient Roman times, a source stated to the news agency.
The nation's antiquities authority said it had initiated an inquiry to determine the "events surrounding the theft of a collection of exhibits", and that measures had been implemented to enhance safeguarding and observation methods.
The chief of national security in the capital area, Brig-Gen Osama Atkeh, was cited by the government press as saying that authorities were investigating the theft, which he said had targeted several "ancient sculptures and unique items".
He noted that security personnel at the institution and other individuals were being interviewed.
The Damascus Museum, which was created in the early twentieth century, holds the most important archaeological collection in the country.
It contains ancient inscribed tablets tracing back to the 14th Century BC from Ugarit, where indications of the oldest known complete alphabet was discovered; Greco-Roman period Greco-Roman sculptures from the ancient city, one of the most important cultural centres of the historical period; and a ancient synagogue that was established at another archaeological site.
The institution was compelled to shut in the early 2010s, one year after the beginning of the internal strife. The majority of the collection was evacuated and preserved at secure places to ensure their safety.
It began limited operations in 2018 and returned to normal in the beginning of the year, a month after opposition groups overthrew Syria's former leader.
Each of the six of nationally recognized sites were damaged or partially destroyed during the internal struggle.
The militant faction destroyed several ancient buildings and historical sites at the archaeological site, asserting that they were against their beliefs. Unesco denounced the demolition as a atrocity.
Many cultural items were also damaged or taken from archaeological sites and cultural institutions.
