Historic Artifacts Taken from Syria's National Museum Located in Damascus
Historic statues and other artefacts have been removed from the National Museum of Syria in Damascus, authorities report.
The burglary was noticed on Monday, when museum workers allegedly found that an entrance had been broken from the interior.
The six stolen statues were made of marble and traced back to the ancient Roman times, a source told the news agency.
The nation's antiquities authority said it had opened an investigation to establish the "events surrounding the loss of a collection of exhibits", and that measures had been enacted to improve security and monitoring systems.
The chief of national security in the Damascus region, General Osama Atkeh, was referenced by the official media as saying that authorities were investigating the robbery, which he said had targeted several "historical artifacts and unique items".
He continued that museum protectors at the institution and other individuals were being interviewed.
The Damascus Museum, which was founded in the early twentieth century, houses the significant cultural treasures in Syria.
It features clay cuneiform tablets dating back to the ancient era from historical site, where indications of the most ancient writing system was uncovered; Greco-Roman period Greco-Roman sculptures from Palmyra, among the foremost ancient sites of the classical era; and a ancient religious building that was built at an ancient location.
The institution was forced to close in 2012, a year after the start of the destructive conflict. Most of the artifacts was removed and preserved at secret locations to safeguard them.
It reopened partially in recent years and returned to normal in the beginning of the year, one month after insurgents removed the Assad regime.
Every one of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were damaged or partially destroyed during the conflict.
The militant faction destroyed numerous religious structures and historical sites at the archaeological site, claiming that they were against their beliefs. The cultural organization censured the destruction as a violation.
Countless artefacts were also destroyed or stolen from historical locations and collections.
