Ancient Statues Taken from Syria's National Museum in Damascus
Ancient artifacts and cultural objects have been stolen from Syria's National Museum in the capital, officials say.
The robbery was discovered on the start of the week, when museum workers apparently found that one of the museum's doors had been forced from the interior.
The multiple missing sculptures were crafted from marble and dated back to the Roman era, one official stated to the media outlet.
The nation's antiquities authority said it had initiated an inquiry to establish the "circumstances surrounding the theft of a collection of items", and that measures had been enacted to strengthen security and observation methods.
The head of domestic security in the Damascus region, Brig-Gen Osama Atkeh, was cited by the official media as stating that law enforcement were investigating the robbery, which he said had targeted several "ancient sculptures and rare collectibles".
He noted that security personnel at the museum and other persons were being interrogated.
The cultural institution, which was established in the early twentieth century, holds the most important archaeological collection in Syria.
It features clay cuneiform tablets tracing back to the Bronze Age from historical site, where evidence of the earliest complete alphabet was found; Greco-Roman period Greco-Roman sculptures from the ancient city, among the foremost cultural centres of the classical era; and a 3rd Century AD religious building that was established at an ancient location.
The facility was forced to close in 2012, one year after the start of the destructive conflict. A large portion of the holdings was transferred and kept at secret locations to safeguard them.
It partially resumed in recent years and resumed full operations in January 2025, a month after opposition groups deposed President Bashar al-Assad.
Each of the six of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were damaged or partially destroyed during the conflict.
The IS organization demolished multiple temples and additional edifices at the archaeological site, asserting that they were against their beliefs. Unesco denounced the demolition as a war crime.
Many artefacts were also destroyed or looted from dig sites and museums.
