Ancient statues and other artefacts have been stolen from Syria's National Museum in Damascus, officials say.
The theft was discovered on Monday, when staff reportedly found that one of the museum's doors had been broken from the inside.
The six missing statues were made of marble and dated back to the Roman era, one official told the Associated Press.
Syria's Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums said it had opened an investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding the loss of a number of exhibits, and that measures had been taken to strengthen protection and monitoring systems.
The head of internal security in Damascus province, Brig-Gen Osama Atkeh, was cited by the state-run Sana news agency as saying that security forces were investigating the theft, which targeted several archaeological statues and rare collectibles. He added that guards at the museum and other individuals were being questioned.
The National Museum, established in 1919, houses the most important archaeological collection in Syria. It includes clay cuneiform tablets from Ugarit, Greco-Roman sculptures from Palmyra, and a third-century synagogue from Dura Europos.
The museum closed in 2012 during the Syrian civil war, with most of its collection evacuated to protect them. It reopened partially in 2018 and resumed full operations in January 2025.
All six of Syria's UNESCO World Heritage sites were damaged or partially destroyed during the civil war. The Islamic State group notably destroyed several temples at Palmyra, prompting international condemnation.
The theft signifies a grim continuation of challenges facing Syria's cultural heritage amidst ongoing instability.
