Valuable Sculptures Removed from the National Museum in Damascus

Valuable sculptures and cultural objects have been taken from the National Museum of Syria in the capital, authorities report.

The theft was discovered on the start of the week, when museum workers reportedly found that one of the museum's doors had been forced from the inside.

The six missing sculptures were marble creations and originated to the ancient Roman times, an authority stated to the Associated Press.

The nation's antiquities authority said it had opened an investigation to identify the "circumstances surrounding the theft of a group of items", and that actions had been enacted to strengthen security and monitoring systems.

The director of domestic security in the capital area, General Osama Atkeh, was referenced by the government press as declaring that security forces were investigating the incident, which he said had focused on several "archaeological statues and rare collectibles".

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

The National Museum, which was founded in the early twentieth century, holds the most important archaeological collection in the country.

It contains clay cuneiform tablets originating to the 14th Century BC from an ancient city, where indications of the oldest known complete alphabet was found; Greco-Roman period classical statues from the ancient city, a significant historical locations of the classical era; and a ancient religious building that was built at Dura Europos.

The institution was compelled to shut in 2012, one year after the outbreak of the destructive conflict. Most of the artifacts was transferred and kept at undisclosed sites to protect them.

It reopened partially in 2018 and resumed full operations in the beginning of the year, one month after rebel forces removed the Assad regime.

Each of the six of the country's cultural landmarks were harmed or partially destroyed during the internal struggle.

The IS organization destroyed multiple temples and other structures at Palmyra, asserting that they were against their beliefs. Unesco censured the destruction as a war crime.

Countless artefacts were also damaged or stolen from historical locations and museums.