Valuable Artifacts Removed from the National Museum Located in Damascus
Ancient artifacts and cultural objects have been stolen from Syria's National Museum in Damascus, sources confirm.
The burglary was noticed on the start of the week, when employees apparently found that a doorway had been forced from the interior.
The half-dozen stolen statues were made of marble and traced back to the ancient Roman times, an authority stated to the Associated Press.
The nation's antiquities authority said it had initiated an inquiry to identify the "details surrounding the loss of a group of items", and that steps had been implemented to enhance safeguarding and monitoring systems.
The chief of domestic security in the Damascus region, Brig-Gen Osama Atkeh, was quoted by the official media as declaring that security forces were investigating the incident, which he said had targeted several "historical artifacts and valuable objects".
He added that security personnel at the institution and additional people were being interrogated.
The Damascus Museum, which was founded in the early twentieth century, houses the significant archaeological collection in Syria.
It contains clay cuneiform tablets dating back to the Bronze Age from Ugarit, where evidence of the oldest known complete alphabet was discovered; 1st and 2nd Century AD Greco-Roman sculptures from historical site, one of the most important historical locations of the ancient world; and a ancient synagogue that was established at another archaeological site.
The museum was forced to close in 2012, one year after the beginning of the destructive conflict. The majority of the holdings was removed and preserved at undisclosed sites to protect them.
It reopened partially in recent years and returned to normal in the beginning of the year, a month after rebel forces removed Syria's former leader.
Each of the six of the country's cultural landmarks were harmed or partially destroyed during the internal struggle.
The militant faction demolished several religious structures and historical sites at the archaeological site, asserting that they were against their beliefs. International authorities condemned the demolition as a war crime.
Countless cultural items were also destroyed or stolen from archaeological sites and collections.
