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Unidentified thieves broke into the headquarters of Lebanon's state news agency and stole a server containing its photo archive, officials say.

National News Agency staff in Beirut found a broken door and the server containing photos of events since 1961 missing along with five computers.

The archive includes pictures of the country's 1975-1990 civil war.

Information Minister Ziad Makary described the theft as a "crime of national proportions".

But he later said that only part of the photo archive had been taken and the ministry still had the database.

An investigation to find the thieves was under way, he said.

"The repercussions of the robbery are both moral and material," he tweeted.

It comes as Lebanon is going through a crushing economic crisis, with its currency losing more than 95% of its value and the annual inflation rate soaring to 170% last year.

That has left more than 80% of the population living in poverty and struggling to afford food and medicine.

The state is unable to pay civil servants and security forces an adequate salary. Many have resorted to taking extra jobs or only occasionally coming to work.

The crisis has been compounded by political paralysis.

A deeply divided parliament has been unable to agree on a new president and a caretaker cabinet with limited powers has been left to run the country.