What's happened
Amid ongoing conflict in Sudan, cultural heritage faces widespread looting and destruction. Museums, including the National Museum in Khartoum, have been looted, with thousands of artifacts lost. A Sudanese curator in France is working to document and recover the country's archaeological treasures before more are lost.
What's behind the headline?
The destruction of Sudan's cultural heritage is a significant loss for global history, given its ancient links to Egypt, the Mediterranean, and Mesopotamia. The conflict has accelerated looting, with museums like Khartoum's National Museum suffering extensive damage. UNESCO's efforts to safeguard artifacts are hampered by limited media visibility and slow protective responses. The international community's lack of attention compared to crises in Afghanistan and Iraq underscores Sudan's cultural emergency being underrecognized. The work of Abdrabo and others to document and recover artifacts is vital, but the ongoing violence threatens to erase centuries of history. This crisis highlights the urgent need for stronger international intervention and awareness to prevent further irreversible loss.
What the papers say
The Independent reports on Abdrabo's efforts and the destruction of Sudanese museums, emphasizing the rapid looting and the loss of invaluable artifacts, including ancient mummies and Kushite treasures. AP News highlights the urgency of building an online database amid the conflict, noting the destruction of regional museums and the ransacking of Khartoum's National Museum. Both sources underscore the cultural emergency, with The Independent stressing the personal toll on Abdrabo and the broader international concern, while AP focuses on the immediate efforts to document and safeguard Sudan's heritage before more is lost. The coverage from both outlets illustrates a shared recognition of the crisis's severity but also points to the limited global media attention compared to similar emergencies elsewhere.
How we got here
The conflict between the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces, which began in April 2023, has led to the destruction and looting of numerous museums and archaeological sites. Efforts to protect Sudan's cultural heritage have been hampered by slow protective measures and limited international media coverage, despite Sudan's historical significance and connections with ancient civilizations like Egypt and Mesopotamia.
Go deeper
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The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation is a specialised agency of the United Nations aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, the sciences, and culture.
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Khartoum or Khartum is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan, the sixth-largest in Africa, the second-largest in North Africa, and the fourth-largest in the Arab world.
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Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in North-East Africa. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, Libya to the northwest, Chad to the west, the Central African Republic to the southwest, South Sudan to the south, Ethiopia to the southe
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The Rapid Support Forces are Sudanese paramilitary forces operated by the Sudanese Government. The RSF grew out of, and is primarily composed of, the Janjaweed militias which fought on behalf of the Sudanese government during the War in Darfur, killing an
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The Sudanese Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of the Sudan. During the 39-month transition to democracy that started in September 2019, the August 2019 Draft Constitutional Declaration defines the Supreme Commander of the Sudanese Arme