Tens of Thousands of Artifacts Looted from Sudan Museum

Members of the Rapid Support Forces in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum (Reuters file)

Tens of thousands of artifacts have been looted from a Sudanese museum regarded as one of the most important in Africa, Britain’s The Guardian newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The museum is located in an area controlled by the RSF, the paramilitary group battling the regular army in Sudan’s war.

An official at the National Museum in Khartoum said satellite images taken last year showed trucks loaded with artifacts leaving the museum and heading for Sudan’s borders, including that with South Sudan.

Earlier this month, Sudan’s national broadcaster reported that the museum had been targeted by “a large-scale looting and smuggling operation.”

The National Museum is regarded by experts as one of the most important such institutions in Africa. Its collection of more than 100,000 items includes embalmed mummies dating from 2,500BC, making them among the oldest and most archaeologically significant in the world.

In June last year, a video clip circulated on social media appeared to show fighters from the RSF entering the bioarcheology lab of the National Museum and opening storage containers containing mummies and other remains.

The same official told The Guardian that attempts were being made to talk to regional governments about returning the works.