Middle East Times 3 June, 2004 One year after looters stripped the contents of the National Museum in Baghdad, up to 10,000 artifacts – two-thirds of all stolen pieces – are still missing, Iraq's interim culture minister said last week.
There is still no trace of between 9,000 and 10,000 of the archaeological treasures stolen by looters in the chaotic period after US-led forces rolled into Baghdad last April, Mufid Jazairi told the German news agency DPA.
"We have arrested the thieves and some pieces have been restored to us," said Jazairi, who was invited to Berlin by Germany's Goethe Institute.
Stolen artifacts have been gradually resurfacing across Europe and the Middle East, although most of the loot is still in Iraq, according to the minister.
Jazairi said he was optimistic about the chances of recovering many more pieces once the security situation in Iraq has improved.
However, Jazairi said looting was still taking place in archaeological sites across the country. The interim culture ministry hopes to tackle the problem in the coming months by training officers to police such sites, he said.
Jazairi added that he was in favor of US-led troops remaining in the country after the restoration of Iraqi sovereignty on June 30.
Vast numbers of artifacts were looted from the Baghdad Museum and other archaeological sites after US forces ousted Saddam Hussein – prompting heavy criticism of the coalition for failing to guard the museum. |