According to the Associated Press; Thieves broke io the Syrian National Museum in Damascus and stole several ancie statues belonging to the Roman era. Following the discovery of this theft, the National Museum of Damascus, which is the largest museum in the coury, was temporarily closed.
This robbery happened on Sunday night and was discovered on Monday morning when one of the doors of the classical section of the museum was broken. This museum, which houses a treasure of valuable aiquities, was reopened in January of this year after 14 years of civil war and the fall of the governme last year.
An official in the General Directorate of Aiquities and Museums of Syria, who did not wa to be named, confirmed that six marble statues were stolen in this incide. Meanwhile, Damascus police chief Brigadier General Osama Atke told the state-run SANA news agency that an investigation had begun and museum guards and other people were being questioned.
With the start of the Syrian civil war in March 2011, the security measures in this museum were strengthened with the installation of metal doors and CCTV cameras, and hundreds of aiquities from all over the coury were transferred to Damascus for protection. However, the theft has once again raised concerns about the safety of Syria’s fragile cultural heritage.
