DAMASCUS, Syria — Thieves broke into the nationwide museum within the Syrian capital and stole a number of historical statues relationship again to the Roman period, officers mentioned Tuesday.
The Nationwide Museum of Damascus was briefly closed after the heist was found early Monday. The museum reopened in January because the nation is reeling from the 14-year civil conflict and the autumn of the 54-year Assad household rule final yr.
The museum in central Damascus, the nation’s largest, homes invaluable antiquities relationship again to Syria’s lengthy historical past. After the conflict began, safety was boosted with steel gates and surveillance cameras.
An official from Syria’s Directorate-Basic for Antiquities and Museums instructed The Related Press that six marble statues have been stolen, including that an investigation is ongoing.
One other official instructed AP that the theft occurred Sunday night time and was found early Monday, when one of many doorways on the classical division was discovered damaged and several other statues relationship again to the Roman period have been lacking. The official refused to present a precise quantity.
Each officers spoke on situation of anonymity in step with laws as a result of the federal government has not but made an announcement.
On Tuesday morning, an AP journalist tried to enter the museum and was instructed by safety guards that it was closed. They refused to reply questions in regards to the theft.
The part of the museum the place the statues have been reported stolen is “a fantastic and historically-rich division with artifacts relationship again to the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine durations,” mentioned Maamoun Abdulkarim, the previous head of the federal government’s antiquities and museums division.
The museum reopened on Jan. 8, a month after rebels ousted President Bashar Assad, ushering in a brand new period for the nation. Terrified of looting, the museum in Damascus closed after the lightning offensive that ended 5 many years of Assad’s household rule.
After Syria’s battle started in March 2011, authorities had moved tons of of priceless artifacts to Damascus from completely different components of the nation, together with the historic central city of Palmyra that was as soon as held by members of the Islamic State group.
In 2015, IS members destroyed mausoleums in Palmyra’s UNESCO World Heritage web site that’s well-known for its 2,000-year-old Roman colonnades, different ruins and priceless artifacts.
