The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan have looted the country’s National Museum in Khartoum, smuggling artefacts across the border to South Sudan, according to reports by Sudan’s national broadcaster, SBC. The RSF paramilitary – engaged in a war against the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) since April 2023 – reportedly carried out a large-scale looting and smuggling operation earlier this year.
Satellite images confirm the movement of trucks loaded with museum items, though specific details on the stolen artefacts have not been disclosed. Knowledge of the extent of the looting is limited since the RSF controls the area.
Some of these items were allegedly offered for sale online and on social media.
The RSF had previously been accused of looting the museum at the onset of the conflict – something it denied, claiming it was protecting the site. In a separate incident, RSF fighters also raided the M Bolheim Bioarchaeology Laboratory in Khartoum, where ancient human remains are housed.
The ongoing conflict between the RSF and SAF has displaced over 10-million people and left a third of Sudan’s population on the brink of famine. Rights groups have accused the RSF of committing numerous atrocities, including unlawful killings, rapes and ethnic cleansing, with violence in Darfur potentially amounting to genocide against the Massalit community.
The looting of Sudan’s cultural heritage adds to the devastating impact of the ongoing war on the country’s people and history.