Thieves steal ancient Roman-era statues from the national museum in Syria

DAMASCUS Syria AP Thieves broke into the national museum in the Syrian capital and stole several ancient statues dating back to the Roman era personnel noted Tuesday The National Museum of Damascus was temporarily closed after the heist was discovered early Monday The museum reopened in January as the country is reeling from the -year civil war and the fall of the -year Assad family rule last year The museum in central Damascus the country s largest houses invaluable antiquities dating back to Syria s long history After the war started guard was boosted with metal gates and surveillance cameras An official from Syria s Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums recounted The Associated Press that six marble statues were stolen adding that an probe is ongoing Another official communicated AP that the theft occurred Sunday night and was discovered early Monday when one of the doors at the classical department was detected broken and several statues dating back to the Roman era were missing The official refused to give an exact number Both officers spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations because the leadership has not yet made a comment On Tuesday morning an AP journalist tried to enter the museum and was explained by protection guards that it was closed They refused to answer questions about the theft The section of the museum where the statues were revealed stolen is a beautiful and historically-rich department with artifacts dating back to the Hellenistic Roman and Byzantine periods commented Maamoun Abdulkarim the former head of the leadership s antiquities and museums department The museum reopened on Jan a month after rebels ousted President Bashar Assad ushering in a new era for the country Fearful of looting the museum in Damascus closed after the lightning offensive that ended five decades of Assad s family rule After Syria s conflict began in March administration had moved hundreds of priceless artifacts to Damascus from different parts of the country including the historic central town of Palmyra that was once held by members of the Islamic State group In IS members destroyed mausoleums in Palmyra s UNESCO World Heritage site that is famous for its -year-old Roman colonnades other ruins and priceless artifacts Mroue communicated from Beirut Source