Historic Artifacts Removed from Syria's National Museum in Damascus
Ancient sculptures and additional items have been stolen from Syria's National Museum in the capital, authorities report.
The robbery was discovered on Monday, when staff reportedly found that an entrance had been forced from the interior.
The multiple taken statues were crafted from marble and traced back to the Roman period, a source informed the media outlet.
Syria's Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums said it had opened an investigation to identify the "circumstances surrounding the loss of a collection of exhibits", and that actions had been enacted to strengthen protection and monitoring systems.
The chief of national security in Damascus province, General Osama Atkeh, was cited by the state-run Sana news agency as stating that authorities were investigating the robbery, which he said had affected several "archaeological statues and valuable objects".
He continued that guards at the facility and other individuals were being interrogated.
The cultural institution, which was created in the early twentieth century, holds the primary historical artifacts in the country.
It includes historical records originating to the Bronze Age from historical site, where indications of the oldest known complete alphabet was discovered; 1st and 2nd Century AD ancient art from Palmyra, among the foremost historical locations of the classical era; and a third century Jewish temple that was built at Dura Europos.
The institution was had to cease operations in 2012, twelve months after the beginning of the destructive conflict. A large portion of the collection was evacuated and kept at secure places to safeguard them.
It partially resumed in recent years and returned to normal in the beginning of the year, four weeks after insurgents overthrew President Bashar al-Assad.
Each of the six of the country's cultural landmarks were damaged or significantly impacted during the civil war.
The Islamic State group destroyed multiple temples and other structures at the ancient city, asserting that they were against their beliefs. Unesco condemned the damage as a atrocity.
Numerous historical objects were also lost or taken from archaeological sites and cultural institutions.
