Ancient Artifacts Stolen from Syria's National Museum Located in Damascus
Historic sculptures and other artefacts have been removed from the National Museum of Syria in the capital, authorities report.
The robbery was discovered on the start of the week, when staff reportedly found that one of the museum's doors had been forced from the inside.
The six taken statues were made of marble and dated back to the Roman era, a source informed the news agency.
Cultural heritage officials said it had opened an investigation to establish the "details surrounding the loss of a number of exhibits", and that actions had been taken to strengthen safeguarding and observation methods.
The chief of domestic security in Damascus province, General Osama Atkeh, was cited by the state-run Sana news agency as declaring that law enforcement were examining the theft, which he said had targeted several "archaeological statues and rare collectibles".
He added that guards at the museum and additional people were being interrogated.
The cultural institution, which was created in the early twentieth century, holds the significant archaeological collection in the country.
It contains ancient inscribed tablets dating back to the 14th Century BC from historical site, where evidence of the most ancient writing system was found; early centuries CE ancient art from the ancient city, a significant cultural centres of the ancient world; and a third century Jewish temple that was built at Dura Europos.
The institution was had to cease operations in 2012, a year after the beginning of the destructive conflict. The majority of the artifacts was transferred and stored at secret locations to protect them.
It began limited operations in recent years and returned to normal in January 2025, a month after insurgents deposed President Bashar al-Assad.
Each of the six of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were affected or partly ruined during the civil war.
The Islamic State group destroyed multiple ancient buildings and historical sites at the archaeological site, stating that they were against their beliefs. The cultural organization condemned the demolition as a war crime.
Many cultural items were also lost or looted from historical locations and collections.
