Valuable Statues Removed from the National Museum in Damascus

Valuable artifacts and other artefacts have been taken from Syria's National Museum in the capital, authorities report.

The burglary was discovered on Monday, when employees reportedly found that an entrance had been broken from the interior.

The half-dozen taken statues were crafted from marble and originated to the Roman period, one official stated to the media outlet.

Syria's Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums said it had launched a probe to identify the "events surrounding the theft of a number of artifacts", and that actions had been enacted to improve protection and surveillance.

The head of internal security in Damascus province, General Osama Atkeh, was cited by the state-run Sana news agency as stating that law enforcement were probing the incident, which he said had targeted several "historical artifacts and valuable objects".

He noted that security personnel at the facility and other persons were being interviewed.

The Damascus Museum, which was founded in the early twentieth century, holds the primary archaeological collection in Syria.

It contains clay cuneiform tablets tracing back to the 14th Century BC from Ugarit, where proof of the earliest linguistic system was uncovered; early centuries CE Greco-Roman sculptures from historical site, one of the most important ancient sites of the historical period; and a 3rd Century AD religious building that was built at Dura Europos.

The facility was compelled to shut in the early 2010s, one year after the beginning of the internal strife. Most of the artifacts was removed and stored at undisclosed sites to protect them.

It partially resumed in recent years and resumed full operations in January 2025, one month after opposition groups removed Syria's former leader.

All six of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were damaged or significantly impacted during the internal struggle.

The IS organization demolished multiple temples and other structures at the ancient city, claiming that they were un-Islamic. International authorities condemned the damage as a war crime.

Many artefacts were also damaged or looted from dig sites and collections.