Valuable Statues Taken from the National Museum Located in Damascus
Historic artifacts and cultural objects have been stolen from the National Museum of Syria in the capital, officials say.
The burglary was found on Monday, when museum workers reportedly found that a doorway had been broken from the inside.
The half-dozen taken statues were marble creations and traced back to the Roman era, a source stated to the Associated Press.
Syria's Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums said it had initiated an inquiry to determine the "events surrounding the disappearance of a group of exhibits", and that actions had been enacted to enhance protection and monitoring systems.
The chief of internal security in the Damascus region, Brig-Gen Osama Atkeh, was referenced by the official media as stating that security forces were probing the robbery, which he said had focused on several "ancient sculptures and rare collectibles".
He noted that guards at the facility and other individuals were being interviewed.
The cultural institution, which was created in 1919, holds the primary historical artifacts in Syria.
It features ancient inscribed tablets tracing back to the 14th Century BC from an ancient city, where evidence of the most ancient complete alphabet was uncovered; 1st and 2nd Century AD Greco-Roman sculptures from the ancient city, among the foremost cultural centres of the historical period; and a ancient religious building that was established at an ancient location.
The museum was forced to close in the early 2010s, a year after the beginning of the destructive conflict. Most of the holdings was removed and preserved at undisclosed sites to safeguard them.
It began limited operations in recent years and completely reopened in the beginning of the year, a month after opposition groups deposed Syria's former leader.
Every one of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were harmed or significantly impacted during the internal struggle.
The IS organization blew up several religious structures and historical sites at the archaeological site, stating that they were un-Islamic. Unesco censured the damage as a atrocity.
Many artefacts were also damaged or stolen from dig sites and collections.
