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Thieves broke into Syria 's nationalist depository and stole respective past statues dating backmost to the Roman era, officials said Tuesday.
The National Museum of Damascus was concisely closed aft the heist was discovered aboriginal Monday (November 10, 025). The depository had reopened successful January arsenic the state was recovering from a 14-year civilian warfare and the autumn of the 54-year Assad household regularisation past year.
The country’s largest depository houses priceless antiquities. After the civilian warfare started successful March 2011, information was improved with metallic gates and surveillance cameras, and authorities moved hundreds of artifacts to Damascus from astir the country.
An authoritative from Syria’s Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums told The Associated Press that six marble statues were stolen, and that an probe was ongoing.
Another authoritative told The Associated Press that the theft occurred Sunday (November 9, 2025) nighttime and was discovered erstwhile 1 of the doors astatine the classical section was recovered broken.
Both officials spoke connected information of anonymity successful enactment with regulations due to the fact that the authorities had not yet made a statement.
The constabulary main successful Damascus, Brig. Gen. Osama Atkeh, aboriginal told authorities quality bureau SANA that respective statues and uncommon collectibles were stolen from the museum. He said that guards determination and different individuals were being questioned.
An AP writer who tried to participate the depository Tuesday (November 11, 2025) was told by guards that photography was not allowed.
Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums said successful a connection aboriginal successful the time that an probe had been launched and that measures were taken instantly to warrant the information of the antiquities wrong the museum. It did not accidental what was stolen, lone saying that “some exhibits” went missing.
The conception of the depository wherever the statues were reported stolen is "a beauteous and historically affluent section with artifacts dating backmost to the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods,” said Maamoun Abdulkarim, the erstwhile caput of the government’s antiquities and museums department.
The depository reopened connected January 8, a period aft rebels ousted President Bashar Assad, ushering successful a caller epoch for the country. Fearful of looting, the depository had concisely closed aft a rebel violative ended 5 decades of Assad household rule.
The years of struggle had severely affected areas, including the historical cardinal municipality of Palmyra, erstwhile held by the Islamic State group. In 2015, IS members destroyed mausoleums successful Palmyra’s UNESCO World Heritage tract that is celebrated for its 2,000-year-old Roman colonnades, different ruins and priceless artifacts.
