🔗 Share this article

Valuable artifacts and additional items have been taken from the National Museum of Syria in Damascus, authorities report.

The theft was noticed on Monday, when employees allegedly found that an entrance had been forced from the interior.

The half-dozen taken statues were crafted from marble and originated to the Roman period, an authority stated to the news agency.

The nation's antiquities authority said it had initiated an inquiry to identify the "details surrounding the theft of a number of items", and that actions had been implemented to enhance protection and monitoring systems.

The head of domestic security in the capital area, General Osama Atkeh, was quoted by the government press as stating that authorities were probing the robbery, which he said had targeted several "historical artifacts and valuable objects".

He added that museum protectors at the facility and additional people were being interviewed.

The Damascus Museum, which was established in the early twentieth century, holds the primary historical artifacts in the country.

It features ancient inscribed tablets dating back to the 14th Century BC from an ancient city, where evidence of the most ancient linguistic system was found; Greco-Roman period ancient art from historical site, among the foremost cultural centres of the classical era; and a 3rd Century AD synagogue that was constructed at an ancient location.

The institution was compelled to shut in the early 2010s, a year after the beginning of the internal strife. A large portion of the artifacts was removed and kept at secret locations to ensure their safety.

It reopened partially in 2018 and returned to normal in the beginning of the year, four weeks after opposition groups deposed the Assad regime.

All six of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were harmed or partially destroyed during the conflict.

The Islamic State group destroyed several ancient buildings and additional edifices at Palmyra, stating that they were un-Islamic. Unesco condemned the destruction as a violation.

Many historical objects were also destroyed or looted from dig sites and collections.