Historic Roman-era statues stolen from Syria nationwide museum

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Thieves broke into the nationwide museum within the Syrian capital and stole a number of historical statues courting again to the Roman period, officers stated 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 warfare and the autumn of the 54-year Assad household rule final yr.

The museum in central Damascus, the nation's largest, homes invaluable antiquities courting again to Syria's lengthy historical past. After the warfare began, safety was boosted with steel gates and surveillance cameras.

An official from Syria's Directorate-Common for Antiquities and Museums informed The Related Press that six marble statues have been stolen, including that an investigation is ongoing.

One other official informed The Related Press that the theft occurred Sunday evening and was found early Monday, when one of many doorways on the classical division was discovered damaged and a number of other statues courting again to the Roman period have been lacking. The official refused to present a precise quantity.

<img loading="lazy" alt="Ancient sculptures are displayed in a section titled "The World of Women" at a museum." srcset="https://i.cbc.ca/ais/cbdfe5e8-aed7-4a91-9c0a-9bba8d376a58,1762863742013/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C5798%2C3865%29%3BResize%3D805 805w,https://i.cbc.ca/ais/cbdfe5e8-aed7-4a91-9c0a-9bba8d376a58,1762863742013/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C5798%2C3865%29%3BResize%3D1104 1104w,https://i.cbc.ca/ais/cbdfe5e8-aed7-4a91-9c0a-9bba8d376a58,1762863742013/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C5798%2C3865%29%3BResize%3D1280 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 762px) 93.6vw,730px" src="https://i.cbc.ca/ais/cbdfe5e8-aed7-4a91-9c0a-9bba8d376a58,1762863742013/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C5798%2C3865%29%3B" style="aspect-ratio:1.5001293661060802" data-cy="image-img"/> Historic sculptures are displayed in a piece titled 'The World of Girls' on the Nationwide Museum of Damascus on Might 23. (Ghaith Alsayed/The Related Press) Each officers spoke on situation of anonymity in step with laws as a result of the federal government has not but made a press release.

The police chief in Damascus, Brig.-Gen. Osama Atkeh, later informed state information company SANA that a number of statues and uncommon collectibles have been stolen from the museum. He stated that guards there and different people have been being questioned.

An AP journalist tried to enter the museum on Tuesday and was informed by guards that it was closed.

The part of the museum the place the statues have been reported stolen is "a gorgeous and traditionally wealthy division, with artifacts courting again to the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine intervals," stated 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 al-Assad, ushering in a brand new period for the nation. Frightened 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 lots of of priceless artifacts to Damascus from completely different elements 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, ISIS 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.