SPLM-RDC calls for recovery of looted Sudan Natuinal Museum treasures
April 20, 2025 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan People’s Liberation Movement – Revolutionary Democratic Current (SPLM-RDC) on Sunday called for a national committee to recover artefacts looted during the ongoing war, calling their loss the “biggest loss” suffered by the nation, while also demanding urgent action to protect civilians.
Khartoum’s National Museum, situated on the Blue Nile, was looted of nearly all its contents while occupied by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the group’s statement noted. The RSF held the site from the war’s start until the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) recaptured it last March.
SPLM-RDC spokesperson Nizar Youssif, in the statement received by Sudan Tribune, demanded a “national and legal committee to pursue and search for the artefacts” taken from the museum, which held millennia of national heritage.
Calling the looting the “biggest loss inflicted on our people in the war,” Youssif said the artefacts were key evidence of Sudan’s contribution to human civilisation and part of the national identity, making their recovery a top priority. He also said that some groups benefit from erasing Sudanese and African history.
The group accused the RSF of also targeting museums at the Presidential Palace, army headquarters, the Khalifa House, Khartoum University, and the Sultan Ali Dinar Museum in El Fasher, North Darfur.
The call follows a Foreign Ministry announcement earlier in April of government plans to collaborate with Interpol and UNESCO to recover artefacts smuggled through two neighbouring countries.
Duty of protection
Turning to the humanitarian crisis, Youssif said the war showed “both warring parties target civilians,” subjecting them to “heinous violations” including killings, rape, displacement, starvation and disease, particularly women and children.
He argued the scale of the disaster demanded that anti-war civilian groups review their strategies and escalate protests globally.
The SPLM-RDC, led by prominent civilian politician Yasir Arman, reiterated its call for a unified plan among anti-war groups to intensify civil action and break the “regional and international silence” on the conflict.
“What is happening in Zamzam camp, the attacks on civilian displacement camps in El Fasher, and events in Khartoum, El Obeid, Um Keddada, and across Sudan’s countryside and cities demands that civilian protection be prioritized as the foremost issue in national, regional, and international forums,” Youssif added.
The statement cited recent events, including the RSF’s deadly takeover of North Darfur’s Zamzam camp on April 14 which killed a reported 400 people and displaced 400,000, ongoing attacks on Omdurman and El Obeid, and the invasion of Um Keddada (North Darfur) where RSF forces allegedly killed civilians including doctors.
“The experience of the past two years clearly shows this war targets civilians, and its parties lack responsibility and conscience, readily committing war crimes,” Youssif stated.
The group demanded the international community enforce international humanitarian law.