BEIRUT: Lebanon's Culture Ministry has given over to Iraq 337 historic relics that had been on exhibit in a private Lebanese museum for years, the National News Agency (NNA) reported.
During a ceremony held at the National Museum of Beirut on Sunday, Culture Minister Mohammad Mortada handed over the objects, which included clay tablets, to Iraqi Ambassador to Lebanon Haider Shyaa Al-Barrak. During Iraq's decades of war, many antiquities were smuggled out of the nation, according to reports.
At the ceremony, Iraq's ambassador to Lebanon, Haider Shyaa Al-Barrak, remarked, "We are celebrating the passing over of 337 items from different eras of civilization in Mesopotamia." He added, without explaining, that his will not be the last handover.
Many of Iraq's antiquities have been looted during the country's decades of war and instability, particularly since Saddam Hussein was deposed in 2003 by a US-led invasion.
Since then, Iraq's government has been steadily reclaiming the ancient artifacts. However, because to a lack of money, archaeological sites across the country continue to be neglected.
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