Tens of thousands of valuable artefacts have been reported looted from Sudan’s National Museum in Khartoum, one of Africa's most significant cultural institutions. An official from the museum revealed that satellite images from last year captured trucks loaded with artefacts departing from the museum, heading towards Sudan's borders, including the one with South Sudan.
The anonymous official did not assign blame for the looting. However, Sudan's national broadcaster previously reported a "large-scale looting and smuggling operation" targeting the museum. The National Museum is situated in an area under the control of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group engaged in a civil war with Sudan’s regular army. The RSF has been contacted for comment but has previously denied involvement in looting.
The National Museum holds a collection of over 100,000 items, including embalmed mummies from 2,500 BC, ancient statues, pottery, and murals spanning from the Stone Age to the Christian and Islamic eras. The loss of these artefacts is seen as a profound blow to Sudanese heritage and identity.
Looting has also been reported at two other major Sudanese museums: Khalifa House in Omdurman and the Nyala Museum in South Darfur. The National Museum official expressed deep distress over the theft, stating, "When we learned about the looting, we didn’t sleep for three or four days. These artefacts are our identity, the identity of the Sudanese people. Can you imagine what it feels like to lose your identity? You lose your existence in this world.”
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| Tens of thousands of artefacts looted from Sudan's National Museum, one of Africa's most important cultural institutions, amid ongoing conflict |
Efforts are underway to engage with regional governments to retrieve the stolen items. The official noted that normally, even moving artefacts within the museum requires police oversight.
Dr. Julien Cooper, an archaeologist with Macquarie University, emphasized the significance of the museum's collection, calling it a valuable cultural treasure. Cooper, an expert in Sudanese archaeology, noted the difficulty in assessing the extent of the loss due to the ongoing conflict.
In June last year, a video circulated showing RSF fighters entering the museum’s bioarchaeology lab and inspecting storage containers with mummies and other remains. The RSF has denied any theft.
Since the conflict began in April, thousands have been killed, 8 million displaced within Sudan, and 2 million have sought refuge in neighboring countries.
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