War's Toll on Sudan’s Cultural Heritage: A Devastating Loss of History**

Sat Dec 20 2025 08:00:26 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

The ongoing conflict in Sudan has led to the catastrophic looting and destruction of its cultural artefacts, with significant impacts on the National Museum and national identity.**

As the conflict rages in Sudan, the National Museum and other cultural sites have suffered extensive damage and looting, with thousands of artefacts lost, highlighting a deliberate attempt to erase Sudan's historical legacy.**

From grand statues to shattered remains: the grim reality of Sudan's battle-scarred museums. Once a jewel of cultural preservation, Sudan's National Museum now lies in ruins following two years of warfare. The conflict, fueled by the struggle between the Sudanese military and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has not only decimated neighborhoods in Khartoum but also ravaged the nation's rich historical heritage.

Iconic sculptures and ancient relics that narrate the stories of the Nubian civilization, once awe-inspiring for school groups and tourists alike, are now largely lost or heavily damaged. Officials report that during the RSF's control of central Khartoum, numerous artefacts were either destroyed or illicitly exported for profit. Ikhlas Abdel Latif Ahmed, head of the museums at Sudan's National Corporation for Antiquities, described the loss as an "erasure of our identity and history."

The museum, strategically located near significant historical intersections, was undergoing restoration efforts when fighting escalated, which unfortunately may have facilitated the removal of valuable pieces. Recent inspections reveal looted areas strewn with bullet casings and shattered glass, underscoring the felled cultural monument's distressing fate.

International bodies like Unesco have raised alarms over the plight of Sudan's cultural sites, alerting art dealers against purchasing smuggled artefacts. Amidst the chaos, the fate of key treasures, such as a gold collar from the pyramid of King Talakhamani, remains uncertain. Despite officials' claims of RSF fighters transporting valuables to places like the UAE, definitive evidence is still lacking.

Amidst this turmoil, there are calls from Sudanese leaders to enlist Interpol and Unesco for assistance in recovering lost artefacts, although the prospects seem grim. Observers like Amgad Farid have condemned the looting as more than mere criminality, framing it as a calculated effort to dismantle Sudan's historical narratives and sever connections between the populace and their heritage.

The situation reflects the broader humanitarian crisis in Sudan, with nearly 13 million displaced since the conflict escalated in 2023 and an estimated 150,000 lives claimed. The war, Ms. Ahmed insists, targets not just the physical spaces but the cultural soul of Sudan itself.

Despite the devastation, Ahmed and others remain hopeful for the future, determined to restore the museum and other affected institutions. "Inshallah, we will recover our collections and rebuild even better," she asserts, showcasing a resilient spirit amid the wreckage of a national treasure that housed centuries of human history.