Sudan's Foreign Ministry accused the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of looting and destroying museums, including the National Museum, when they were in control of Khartoum state.
The ministry said the damage included artifacts documenting Sudan's 7,000-year-old civilization, calling it a “war crime.” It vowed to hold those responsible accountable and to work with international organizations to recover the stolen antiquities.
Moreover, the ministry said on Tuesday that archaeological archives at the National Museum had been looted and smuggled into two neighboring countries, without naming them.
It accused the RSF of targeting the National Records House, public and private libraries, universities, laboratories, mosques, and churches of historical significance in both Khartoum and Wad Madani.
It described the attacks on museums and cultural institutions as part of a deliberate plan to erase Sudan's national identity.
It added that Sudan's historical and cultural heritage had also been targeted, saying the destruction and looting of the National Museum was intentional, aiming to obliterate artifacts that encapsulate the country's history.
The RSF were also accused of targeting all major museums in the greater Khartoum area, including the Khalifa House Museum, the Ethnographic Museum, the Republican Palace Museum, the Military Museum, the Natural History Museum at the University of Khartoum, and the Sultan Ali Dinar Museum in El Fasher.
The ministry described the looting and destruction of museums as part of a “criminal scheme” carried out by the RSF, calling it an attack on Sudan's people, state, cultural heritage, historical memory, and economic and scientific foundations.
The assault on Sudan's cultural history was an extension of atrocities committed against civilians, it added, citing mass graves, hostage-taking, torture centers, and the skeletal remains of those who had perished across Khartoum.
