Researchers urge South Sudan president to help recover looted artefacts

 September 5, 2024 (PORT SUDAN) – About 200 Sudanese researchers have called on South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit to help recover valuable artefacts looted from the National Museum in Khartoum and taken to South Sudan for sale.

The museum, located in the centre of the capital, has been under the control of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since fighting broke out in mid-April 2023.

Saudi newspaper Al-Eqtisadiah reported that the Centre for Research on Sudanese Culture, History and Civilization has written to Kiir asking for assistance in the return of the museum’s holdings.

The letter from the Centre, signed by more than 200 professors and researchers, appealed to Kiir, his government and the people of South Sudan to help track down the thieves, apprehend them and return the looted artefacts.

Osama Sayed Ahmed Al-Hussein, Secretary of International Cooperation at the Centre, said the artefacts offered for sale online are a precious human heritage dating back more than 7,000 years and international laws require their preservation.

Al-Hussein said the move was coordinated with Sudan’s Minister of Culture and Information and the Sudanese ambassador to South Sudan.

“We assured President Salva Kiir that we will move forcefully and fiercely to pursue the antiquities thieves at all levels … to recover those recently stolen artefacts,” he said.

He added that they would also work to recover antiquities looted in the past during the colonial era and taken to museums in Europe and other countries.

The Sudanese National Museum is considered one of the largest museums in Sudan. It houses archaeological holdings representing all periods of Sudanese civilization from the Stone Age to the Islamic period.