Missing artefacts back on display in Beirut after decades

Ancient sculptures, after being stolen during Lebanon’s civil war, are on display again thanks to a global effort to stop antiquities smuggling during the war in Iraq and Syria.

The ancient sculpture "Bull's Head" is displayed at the Lebanese National museum during a ceremony celebrating the return of three ancient sculptures from the United States, in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, February 2, 2018. / AP

Ancient sculptures that were missing for decades after being stolen during Lebanon's civil war are on display in Beirut once again.

This is thanks to a global fight against antiquities smuggling, a problem that has increased over the past 15 years since the invasion of Iraq, and the war in Syria.

As TRT World'sFrancis Collings reports, five marble statues were among a haul of hundreds that Lebanese militiamen took from a storehouse in the early 1980s.