Valuable Artifacts Removed from the National Museum in Damascus
Valuable statues and other artefacts have been removed from the National Museum of Syria in the capital, sources confirm.
The robbery was noticed on the start of the week, when staff reportedly found that one of the museum's doors had been broken from the inside.
The multiple taken pieces were marble creations and traced back to the Roman period, an authority stated to the media outlet.
The nation's antiquities authority said it had launched a probe to identify the "details surrounding the disappearance of a collection of artifacts", and that actions had been taken to enhance security and monitoring systems.
The chief of national security in the Damascus region, General Osama Atkeh, was quoted by the official media as declaring that law enforcement were probing the theft, which he said had affected several "ancient sculptures and valuable objects".
He continued that guards at the museum and additional people were being interrogated.
The Damascus Museum, which was established in 1919, holds the most important historical artifacts in the country.
It contains ancient inscribed tablets originating to the 14th Century BC from an ancient city, where proof of the oldest known complete alphabet was uncovered; Greco-Roman period ancient art from historical site, a significant ancient sites of the classical era; and a 3rd Century AD synagogue that was constructed at another archaeological site.
The museum was compelled to shut in the early 2010s, one year after the start of the internal strife. A large portion of the holdings was evacuated and stored at undisclosed sites to safeguard them.
It reopened partially in recent years and returned to normal in the beginning of the year, a month after rebel forces overthrew President Bashar al-Assad.
Each of the six of nationally recognized sites were affected or partly ruined during the conflict.
The IS organization demolished several temples and additional edifices at the archaeological site, claiming that they were un-Islamic. Unesco condemned the destruction as a violation.
Many cultural items were also damaged or taken from historical locations and museums.
