Head of the Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums, Mahmoud Hamoud, said that the Directorate is creating a dossier about stolen antiquities, which is to be submitted to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL with the aim of intensifying international cooperation and efforts to recover these ancient artifacts due to their significance as part of the international cultural and civilization heritage.
In a statement to SANA, Hamoud highlighted the Directorate’s efforts to remain in touch with international bodies and organizations concerned with the protection of cultural heritage and the repatriation of archaeological artifacts, stolen and smuggled abroad by terrorist groups.
“News was recently circulated by some media outlets about Jewish artifacts looted by terrorist groups from one of the world’s oldest synagogues in the suburb of Jobar in Damascus and smuggled to Turkey then into the Israeli entity. This shows the seriousness of the conspiracy and aggressive scheme targeting Syria and its civilization.” Hamoud said.
He added that after the liberation of Jobar thanks to the heroism of Syrian Arab Army, numerous archaeological artifacts were discovered in basements and transferred to the National Museum of Damascus.
Hamoud pointed out that there are many reports about Syrian archaeological artifacts being stolen and smuggled to Jordan, adding that the Jordanian authorities have confiscated many of them.
This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
