In the dust and ruins of Khartoum, more than just bricks and glass have disappeared – seven thousand years of human genius have vanished, and the golden memory of the nation has been stolen. As the fighting subsides, the silent cry of the ravaged Sudanese National Museum is louder than cannon shells.
Once, imposing statues of rams and lions stood in the courtyard of the Sudanese National Museum – priceless artifacts from the time when Nubian rulers conquered the territory of today’s Egypt. Alongside them were exceptional Christian wall paintings centuries old.
On a typical day before the war, groups of schoolchildren would gaze with admiration at these reminders of their nation’s magnificent past, tourists would visit one of Khartoum’s main attractions, and occasionally concerts would be held in the museum courtyard.
However, all that changed when war broke out two years ago. Now that the Sudanese army is reestablishing control over the capital after finally expelling its rival, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the full extent of the destruction is becoming apparent.
Government facilities, banks, and office buildings stand blackened and burned, while the museum – a symbol of the proud history and culture of the nation – has been particularly hard hit.
Senior officials state that tens of thousands of artifacts have been destroyed or taken for sale during the period when the RSF controlled the central part of Khartoum, where the museum is located.
The director of the museum at the Sudanese National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums, Ikhlas Abdel Latif Ahmed, points out that the attackers destroyed Sudanese identity and history. Before the conflict, the National Museum was a true jewel. Located in the very heart of Sudan – near the Presidential Palace and the confluence of the Blue and White Nile – it told the story of a series of great civilizations that inhabited this area throughout history.
When museum officials conducted an inspection visit, they were met with shattered glass, bullet casings on the floor, and signs of looting everywhere. The building that was once unique and beautiful is now just a shadow of its former greatness.
Looting has also been reported at other Sudanese museums and ancient sites. In September of last year, UNESCO warned of a “threat to culture” and called on art dealers not to import or export artifacts smuggled out of Sudan.
Before the war, the National Museum was undergoing renovation, so many of its exhibits were packed up. This may have made it easier to remove the collections. Sudanese officials claim that valuable artifacts from the National Museum were taken for sale.
They strongly suspect that RSF fighters took some of the valuables to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), although they have not provided evidence for this. However, a United Nations (UN)panel of experts on Sudan reported that the RSF had been exporting significant amounts of gold to the UAE even before the war. The UAE has also often been accused of financing the RSF, although both sides have always denied these accusations.
The loss of the gold collection, which was stored in a specially secured room, is especially painful. Among the stolen items could be the gold necklace from the pyramid of King Talakhamani atNuri, dating from the 5th century BC.
When asked about the value of the stolen items, Ahmed simply replies: “There is no value for museum artifacts, they are more precious than you can imagine.”
The de facto government of Sudan says it will contact Interpol and UNESCO in an attempt to recover the looted artifacts from the National Museum and other locations. However, the return of the artifacts seems like a difficult and perhaps even dangerous task, with little prospect for immediate success.
The government and other Sudanese observers claim that the RSF’s attacks on museums, universities, and buildings like the National Records Office are a conscious attempt to destroy the Sudanese state – but the RSF denies this.
Amgad Farid, who runs the Fikra for Studies and Development think-tank, is particularly critical of the looting. In his opinion, the actions of the RSF go beyond ordinary crime and represent a deliberate and malicious attack on Sudan’s historical identity, targeting the priceless heritage of Nubian, Coptic, and Islamic civilizations that stretches back over 7.000 years.
The story of the National Museum – seized by armed men, its gold and valuables looted – reflects the individual stories of many Sudanese in this conflict: they were forced to flee, their homes were occupied, their gold was stolen.
According to UN data, nearly 13 million people have been forced to leave their homes since the start of the fighting in 2023, while an estimated 150.000 people have lost their lives.
Despite these heavy blows, Ahmed and other like-minded people intend to rebuild the National Museum and other looted institutions. With faith, he expresses hope that all the exhibits will be returned and that the museum will be built more beautifully than before.
For the modern, especially the Western developed world, famous, popular, and wealthy for several decades now, their mouths are full of messages about peace, stories about the protection of natural resources, and likewise about the importance of cultural and historical heritage. That same world remains silent and ignores two years of hunger and death, watches forests burn, entire provinces disappear, and ancient cities vanish… The looting of Sudanese museums reveals yet another, perhaps darker truth, the truth that that same world is willing to allow the priceless testimony of our first steps toward civilization to vanish through the hands of looters. Perhaps the greatest tragedy of Sudan is that African treasure, plundered for the second time in history, will end up as decoration in the homes of those same people who finance its destruction – just as it happened the first time.
