The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have reportedly looted the Sudan National Museum (SNM), smuggling some of its artefacts, which are believed to be taken across the country’s southern border.
It is unknown what specific artefacts were taken; however, according to Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), Sudan’s national broadcaster, ‘a large-scale looting and smuggling operation’ has taken place in SNM. In addition, SBC reported that some of the museum’s contents have been offered for sale online and on social media.
Located on Nile Avenue in Khartoum in Al Mugran, the confluence of the White and the Blue Nile, SNM houses the largest and most comprehensive Nubian archaeological collection in the world, including objects from the Paleolithic through to the Islamic period, originating from every site of importance in Sudan. It houses collections of these periods of the history of Sudan: Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, A-Group culture, C-Group culture, Kerma Culture, Middle Kingdom of Egypt, New Kingdom of Egypt, Napata, Meroë, X-Group culture and medieval Makuria. The two-storey building was constructed in 1955 and established as national museum in 1971.
Many took to social media to express their grievances over RSF’s looting of SNM.
No mention in western media of looting at Sudan National Museum. Genocide, famine, plague, terrorism and now looting. I was hostage of the RSF for 9 days and am lucky to be alive. They're terrorists no different to isis. I was working at the SNM when the war started. So very sad— Rennan Lemos (@lemossrennan) September 3, 2024
No mention in western media of looting at Sudan National Museum. Genocide, famine, plague, terrorism and now looting. I was hostage of the RSF for 9 days and am lucky to be alive. They're terrorists no different to isis. I was working at the SNM when the war started. So very sad
Devastating news about the ransacking of the national museum in Sudan which was one of the richest collections of African cultural history on the continent.— Nanjala Nyabola (@Nanjala1) September 2, 2024
Devastating news about the ransacking of the national museum in Sudan which was one of the richest collections of African cultural history on the continent.
I can't even really process this to be honest but I will say once again – the looting of antiquities in Sudan (and beyond) is driven by the Western market for these objects. It directly implicates many university libraries, government archives, and private museum collections. https://t.co/k1xyAeNRfF— Razan Idris (@idris_razan) September 1, 2024
I can't even really process this to be honest but I will say once again – the looting of antiquities in Sudan (and beyond) is driven by the Western market for these objects. It directly implicates many university libraries, government archives, and private museum collections. https://t.co/k1xyAeNRfF
I couldn’t even bring myself to write anything on this yesterday, it pains me that much. Sudan’s national museum was one of the greatest museums on this planet and probably the only one in the world where you could stroll and examine items dating back thousand years without… https://t.co/pV9OxW9ZdG— Mohanad (@MohanadElbalal) September 2, 2024
I couldn’t even bring myself to write anything on this yesterday, it pains me that much. Sudan’s national museum was one of the greatest museums on this planet and probably the only one in the world where you could stroll and examine items dating back thousand years without… https://t.co/pV9OxW9ZdG
The looting of the National Museum is a true disgrace and a huge loss to the country. I'm struck that the man selling these objects is in Port Sudan. Why is the government in SAF controlled areas allowing the selling of objects that were obviously stolen? https://t.co/rHkPXrexyT— Rebecca Glade (@rmglade) September 3, 2024
The looting of the National Museum is a true disgrace and a huge loss to the country. I'm struck that the man selling these objects is in Port Sudan. Why is the government in SAF controlled areas allowing the selling of objects that were obviously stolen? https://t.co/rHkPXrexyT
My younger brother and I always looked forward to our trips to the Sudan National Museum when we’d visit Khartoum. Its ongoing looting by the RSF is just another in a long list of the destruction of precious Sudanese cultural relics. pic.twitter.com/SlRzuDcXU0— Suha Musa (@suhamusa23) September 2, 2024
My younger brother and I always looked forward to our trips to the Sudan National Museum when we’d visit Khartoum. Its ongoing looting by the RSF is just another in a long list of the destruction of precious Sudanese cultural relics. pic.twitter.com/SlRzuDcXU0
The RSF was previously accused of looting the museum in when the fighting began between the RSF and the Sudanese Army Forces on 15 April 2013. However, there is strong evidence, including footage and satellite images of the RSF’s recent looting of SNM.
Last year, RSF raided the M Bolheim Bioarchaeology Laboratory in Khartoum, where human remains, including bones and skeletons, are thought to date from 3,300-3,000 BCE.
In March 2024, there were reports that the Khalifa House Museum has also been looted by the RSF. Located in Omdurman opposite the Al Mahdi Tomb, the Khalifa House Museum is an ethnographic museum and the house where Khalifa Abdullah ibn Mohammed lived. It’s an archaeological site that dates back to the era of the Mahdi State since 1881. The house was transferred into a museum in 1928.
Since the war began in April 2023, residents have reported widespread looting of homes, shops and other private property such as vehicles by the RSF across the country from Khartoum to Al Gezira to Sennar.
For more information on the Sudan National Museum, visit sudannationalmuseum.com
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