Paris. Since April 2023, a conflict has been pitting the regular army against paramilitary groups in Sudan, leading to the displacement of more than 10 million people. Part of the capital, Khartoum, is in the hands of these groups, and there are consistent reports of looting in several museums in the country. In a statement, UNESCO said it was following “since April 2023 the impact of the crisis on heritage, cultural institutions and artists” of Sudan. The international organization deplores the looting of museums, and recalls that it had contributed to the renovation of the National Museum in Khartoum in 2019 with funding from Italy. This museum, the first founded in Sudan, was inaugurated in 1971 as part of the monumental Aswan Dam project from 1959. Built by the German architect Friedrich Hinkel in the middle of a park, it houses a collection of more than 100,000 pieces, the oldest of which date back to prehistoric times. Among the remarkable pieces are Neolithic artifacts and pieces from the kingdom of Kush and its second capital, Meroe (5th century BC – 4th century AD), vestiges of the first African empires.
According to several witnesses, the museum was looted in January 2024 when the Rapid Support Forces (paramilitary group) took part of the collections in three trucks. This looting has since been confirmed by videos posted on social networks and by the museum’s curators. Our colleagues at RFI radio have obtained information showing that some of the looted pieces have started to be resold on the border with South Sudan, and on the eBay website.
UNESCO is concerned about the looting that has occurred in other museums, including the Nyala Museum in Darfur, a local museum whose collections and materials were allegedly looted in June 2023 according to a curator quoted in the media. This modest museum had been renovated in 2018-2019 as part of an Iccrom (International Centre for the Study of the Restoration and Conservation of Cultural Property) programme supported by the British Council. UNESCO recalls in its press release that it has put in place “emergency measures” in five Sudanese museums, even if it means moving the collections, and that it monitors by satellite the state of the sites listed as World Heritage (the Napatan sites of Gebel Barkal and the archaeological sites of the island of Meroe). Finally, it calls for respect for international law, including by art market players and experts.
The Sudanese authorities had for their part warned Interpol in the spring of 2023 in an attempt to stop the trafficking of Sudanese cultural property. To the extent that paramilitary groups still hold entire areas of the country, the action of the police and customs is hampered, and the forced displacement of heritage professionals does not help.
