Valuable Statues Stolen from the National Museum in Damascus

Historic statues and additional items have been stolen from the National Museum of Syria in the capital, officials say.

The burglary was found on the start of the week, when museum workers reportedly found that a doorway had been damaged from the interior.

The half-dozen stolen sculptures were made of marble and traced back to the Roman era, an authority stated to the Associated Press.

Cultural heritage officials said it had initiated an inquiry to establish the "details surrounding the disappearance of a number of exhibits", and that actions had been implemented to improve protection and monitoring systems.

The chief of domestic security in the Damascus region, Security Chief Atkeh, was cited by the government press as saying that law enforcement were investigating the theft, which he said had focused on several "historical artifacts and rare collectibles".

He continued that guards at the facility and other persons were being interviewed.

The Damascus Museum, which was established in 1919, holds the most important archaeological collection in the country.

It features historical records dating back to the 14th Century BC from an ancient city, where evidence of the oldest known complete alphabet was discovered; 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 institution was had to cease operations in 2012, a year after the start of the internal strife. Most of the collection was evacuated and stored at secure places to safeguard them.

It began limited operations in 2018 and returned to normal in early this year, one month after insurgents deposed the Assad regime.

Every one of nationally recognized sites were affected or partly ruined during the civil war.

The militant faction blew up multiple ancient buildings and historical sites at Palmyra, stating that they were idolatrous. Unesco censured the destruction as a violation.

Countless cultural items were also lost or looted from dig sites and cultural institutions.