Historic Artifacts Taken from the National Museum Located in Damascus

Historic sculptures and cultural objects have been stolen from Syria's National Museum in Damascus, sources confirm.

The burglary was noticed on Monday, when staff allegedly found that an entrance had been broken from the inside.

The multiple stolen statues were marble creations and dated back to the ancient Roman times, a source informed the media outlet.

Cultural heritage officials said it had launched a probe to establish the "circumstances surrounding the disappearance of a group of artifacts", and that measures had been enacted to enhance safeguarding and monitoring systems.

The director of domestic security in Damascus province, Security Chief Atkeh, was referenced by the state-run Sana news agency as declaring that security forces were investigating the incident, which he said had targeted several "ancient sculptures and valuable objects".

He added that security personnel at the facility and other individuals were being interrogated.

The cultural institution, which was founded in 1919, holds the significant cultural treasures in Syria.

It features ancient inscribed tablets dating back to the ancient era from Ugarit, where indications of the earliest complete alphabet was discovered; 1st and 2nd Century AD classical statues from Palmyra, among the foremost ancient sites of the ancient world; and a 3rd Century AD Jewish temple that was built at Dura Europos.

The museum was forced to close in 2012, one year after the outbreak of the devastating civil war. A large portion of the artifacts was evacuated and stored at secret locations to protect them.

It partially resumed in 2018 and resumed full operations in early this year, four weeks after insurgents deposed President Bashar al-Assad.

Each of the six of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were harmed or partially destroyed during the internal struggle.

The Islamic State group blew up numerous religious structures and additional edifices at the archaeological site, asserting that they were against their beliefs. International authorities condemned the demolition as a atrocity.

Many artefacts were also destroyed or taken from historical locations and museums.