Thieves strike ‘Louvre of Damascus,’ stealing rare Roman-era statues
Several rare statues from the Roman period were stolen from the National Museum of Syria in Damascus, authorities in the Syrian capital confirmed today.
Colonel Osama Ataka, commander of the Internal Security Forces in Damascus, said that during the night between Sunday and Monday this week, a theft took place at the National Museum in the Syrian capital, during which several ancient statues and rare artifacts were stolen.
In a statement to the official news agency SANA, he said that the relevant authorities have launched an investigation aimed at recovering the stolen items, and at the same time, are questioning security personnel and museum officials to understand how the incident occurred.
Journalist Mohammed al-Salloum, who was the first to report the theft even before official confirmation from the authorities, wrote on his Facebook account that the authorities carried out arrests and interrogations of suspects last night, but no breakthrough has yet been achieved in the investigation.
The National Museum of Damascus currently houses historical works gathered from all over Syria. During the country’s civil war, many historically significant artifacts were destroyed—some deliberately by terrorist organizations, primarily ISIS. Those that survived have been concentrated in the museum from which last night’s theft took place.
Omer Shahar is a correspondent for KAN 11 news.
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