Some looted Idlib National Museum artifacts resurface, fate of others a mystery amidst ‘thriving black market trade’

As rebel forces moved closer to capturing Idlib city from the regime in spring 2015, the employees of the Idlib National Museum moved their collections—which included priceless cuneiform tablets dating back to around 2,500 BCE—into sealed underground storage.

Six days after the Victory Army—a rebel coalition including Ahrar a-Sham, Jund al-Aqsa and Jabhat a-Nusra—captured Idlib city, a regime barrel bomb ripped a hole in the ceiling one of the underground storerooms, exposing its contents. 

Amidst rumors that the artifacts had been looted, nobody—museum employees and others—was allowed on the premises. The museum has been shuttered since then, closely guarded by Ahrar a-Sham. 

For 19 months, the fate of the collections remained a mystery, even to those who once worked at the museum.