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Sudan Cultural Genocide,
Part 2
Published in January 2026
By Karim-Edine Ayyada
Introduction
The destruction of Sudan’s cultural heritage during the current conflict reveals a systematic assault on the institutions, sites, and practices that represent the country’s historical and collective memory. The choice of the term “cultural genocide” to name the report can seem curious since it is not explicitly codified as a proper crime under the 1948 Genocide Convention and international law; Nevertheless, subsequent international legal frameworks recognize that targeting the cultural, religious, and historical foundations of a country may constitute evidence of genocidal intent. Following up on the 1948 Convention, the 1954 Hague Convention, and the Rome Statute designate places of worship, museums, archives, cemeteries, manuscripts, and other cultural property as protected objects. Their intentional destruction is treated as a serious violation of international humanitarian law and a war crime.
Within this framework, this report explores through documentation how the Sudan conflict presents a case of cultural genocide through the cumulative destruction and exploitation of heritage sites. Museums in Khartoum have been looted and damaged, resulting in the loss of archaeological collections of one of the culturally richest countries. Archaeological zones have been endangered by troop movement and the absence of protective oversight. Study centers and archives have experienced disruption, undermining the academic infrastructure responsible for preserving Sudanese knowledge.
The pattern extends into the religious sphere. Mosques have been repeatedly assaulted during prayer times, notably the Tijaniyya Mosque in Omdurman, Al-Masjid al-ʿAtiq in El Fasher, and the King Farouk Mosque in central Khartoum. Churches, too, have suffered targeted destruction and looting, as detailed in investigative documentation of assaults on the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, the Church of the Immaculate Conception, and St. Matthew’s Cathedral.
Taken together, these acts demonstrate a pattern aimed not only at territorial control but at severing the continuity of Sudan’s historical memory, religious traditions, and cultural identity. This report examines that pattern across museums, archaeological sites, academic centers, and religious structures, situating the ongoing destruction within the broader legal and cultural framework of cultural genocide.
Museums
Natural History Museum
15°36'32"N 32°32'25"E
The National History Museum is located near the mosque. According to an Arabic Wikipedia page, the museum is situated on the central campus of the University of Khartoum, on University Street, in the area between the Institute of African and Asian Studies and the University of Khartoum Consulting House, which is a broad description. Nevertheless, I found an Arabic website named “اكتشف العالم”, which translates to “discover the world”, giving a segment in 2015 on the museum, here is the YouTube Video
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFW0cL956uc&t=18s)
We can see in the YouTube Video the entry door:
We can see that the entry door have no roof, and it gives access to a courtyard with squares on the ground and a big tree near the entry door, which perfectly fit the satellite image of the location.
Arabic journalistic resources heavily document the disaster at the National History Museum of Khartoum.
This is an Al Jazeera translated article
“The hand of destruction also reached the Natural History Museum, which suffered severe damage due to its proximity to the General Command Headquarters of the Army. Its opening dates back to 1958 AD, and it contains rare animals that were killed by hunger and thirst, and other mummified extinct animals that were lost, as well as plant seeds and samples of rare rocks and herbs, which were also looted. But the greatest disaster was the loss of the museum's records.”
As Al Jazeera is stating, it is purely a disaster that museum records got lost… It can mean that looted mummified species will never be found. Another article of Al Jazeera cites this here
“Sarah Abdullah, director of the Natural History Museum at the University of Khartoum, says that the museum contains reference specimens that make it one of the most important natural history museums in the world. She continues on Al Jazeera Net, saying, "The museum includes live animals of reptiles, birds, and mammals, in addition to research specimens of poisonous snakes and scorpions belonging to the Poisonous Organisms Research Center at the University of Khartoum. All this wealth has not found anyone to take care of it. The animals have lacked anyone to feed them since the first shot was fired, so they died."
Accordingly, I couldn’t find any source mentioning the bombing of the museum, nor did I see any distinguishable damage through satellites.
Darfur Community Museum (Nyala Museum)
12°2'28.90"N 24°52'24,58"E
Foundation: 1979–1980 by the National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums (NCAM).
Purpose: to preserve Darfur’s ethnographic, archaeological, and traditional craft heritage.
Pre-Civil war: Darfur has been a conflictual area since 2003, so the museum looting started around 2003-2005. But it was isolated thefts and not documented systemic looting as between 2021-2023.
General situation: When the 2023 war between SAF and RSF spread to Darfur, Nyala (South Darfur capital) became a frontline. The museum was caught in RSF-controlled territory. Robberies became a political symbolic message to erase state symbols and some ethnicities. Documentation disappeared (paper records, computers), erasing provenance trails.
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Al-Jazeera Arabic (Sept 2024) → “Destruction also reached the Nyala Museum, which was completely looted; its collections and building suffered severe damage.”-Same Al-Jazeera report → “Shelling partially destroyed the roof, leaving exhibits exposed to rainfall.”
Link
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The New Arab (2024): Reports “theft of all display materials, furniture, and exhibition collections.”
Link
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NCAM communications (2024): reports indicate loss of inventory logs and accession cards erasing documents.
Link
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Residents interviewed in 2023 mentioned that the museum building was used as a shelter for displaced civilians and later for RSF soldiers.
Link
While imagery doesn’t reveal any significant damage to the museum campus structures alone, the entire neighborhood to the south of the structure has been impacted by projectiles, with roofs collapsing inward. It is therefore reasonable to believe that the Nyala Museum has either been raided or is at significant risk.
Imagery is April 2023 and March 2025, with the museum campus at the upper right.
Sultan Ali Darfur Museum
13°37'34.05"N 25°20'57.65"E
The Sultan Ali Dinar Museum in El Fasher, North Darfur, dedicated to the legacy of Darfur’s last sultan, was heavily damaged during the current conflict. Originally restored and reopened with international support in recent years, the museum was shelled by Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in January 2025, according to multiple reports, which led to a fire that destroyed large parts of the building and consumed much of its collection, including the Sultan’s personal belongings and ethnographic materials. Sudanese heritage authorities and journalists note that the roof and interior suffered severe damage, while eyewitness accounts describe the museum as effectively destroyed.
Documentation was minimal and mostly paper-based; most records were destroyed in the attack, leaving no complete official inventory. This loss makes the stolen artefacts untraceable. Arabic and international sources consistently attribute the looting to RSF-aligned fighters, with destruction taking place between 10 and 15 January 2025.
The museum situation is extremely well documented by Arabic media, image sources
Imagery is from May 2023 and January 2025. Notice that the January 2025 imagery appears to look like a spiderweb. Those are the beams of the structure, which you can see in this ground photograph from The Art Newspaper
May 2023
January 2025
Republican Palace Museum
15°36'28.51"N, 32°31'44.47"E
The Republican Palace Museum (متحف القصر الجمهوري) in Khartoum, housed inside the old All Saints’ Cathedral on the presidential palace grounds, was badly damaged during the Sudanese civil war after the RSF seized the complex on April 15, 2023. Reports and photographs show the museum’s interior reduced to charred wreckage, with smashed antique cars, burned exhibits, and debris scattered throughout, while the palace buildings themselves suffered repeated fires and shelling from both RSF and SAF offensives through 2023–2024. Though the full extent of looting is still unknown, heritage experts warn that the destruction represents a major blow to Sudan’s modern cultural history; the site remained contested until the Sudanese military retook the palace in March 2025. The museum now exists as a heavily damaged, partially burned site, reflecting the large collapse of cultural heritage in Khartoum.
(Imagery is April 2023, November 2024, and February 2025 (Note that shelling has damaged the roof).
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This Instagram post helps me illustrate the museum artefacts and content before its destruction
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This article from Independent Arabia helps me illustrate the destruction of the museum
Museum artefacts Before/After Conflict:
Sudan National Museum
15°36'21.49"N, 32°30'31.30"E
The Sudan National Museum in Khartoum (المتحف القومي السوداني), located on El Neel Avenue in the al-Mugran district, was one of the worst-hit cultural institutions of the war. Between April 17 and 20, 2023, satellite and ground evidence confirmed that fire damaged two key buildings on its grounds: one housing the ancient Egyptian Temple of Buhen and another containing part of the Temple of Aksha. Their roofs and facades were scorched, with burn damage also visible in the surrounding area. In the months that followed, the museum was systematically looted—display halls and storage rooms were stripped, cases smashed, and artifacts such as gold, small statues, and mummies were removed, reportedly transported in trucks toward border areas. When government forces retook Khartoum in early 2025, images showed the museum in ruins: empty galleries, rubble, and widespread destruction of what had been Sudan’s most important archaeological and cultural repository.
Research conducted by the Cultural Heritage Monitoring Lab (CHML) in partnership with the Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative (SCRI) provided independent confirmation of the Sudan National Museum’s destruction. By analyzing high-resolution satellite imagery, CHML documented fire-related damage to the structures housing the Temple of Buhenand the Temple of Aksha, with visible impacts to their roofs and surrounding grounds. Their findings placed the destruction between April 17 and 20, 2023, aligning with wider patterns of fire damage within a 0.5 km radius during the same period. These results reinforced concerns voiced by the Director of the Sudan Natural History Museum on April 26, 2023, who warned of both fire damage and active looting of the museum’s extensive Nubian collections.
(Imagery is April 2023, February 2024, and November 2024)
Sudan National Museum in Khartoum, April 2023, and closeups.
Sudan National Museum in Khartoum, February 2024, and closeups. Notice roof damage and small burnt tree in closeups. This is likely damage from the raid by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Sudan National Museum in Khartoum, November 2024, and closeups of burnt out trees and the property line. Notice the extensive bombing of the Friendship Theatre (lot/buildings on the right), which was a multi-purpose center and gift from the Chinese government. It was allegedly bombed by Army warplanes as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) held a military position there. The bombing of sites like the Friendship Hall by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and additional damage to the museum around this time, was most likely collateral damage from urban warfare, as opposed to damage seen in February 2024.
The Museum was one of the most heavily looted cultural institutions in the 2023–2025 war. Arabic and international media confirm that RSF forces occupied the museum from mid-2023, using its halls and grounds as a military base. During this period, the museum's computers and documentation were destroyed, and by the time RSF left, the museum had suffered systematic looting and extensive physical damage.
Multiple Arabic outlets (Al-Akhbar, Al-Arabiya, Al-Ain) describe wide theft of artefacts, including the museum’s gold archaeological items, contents of a fortified storage room, and various portable relics. Some reports cite NCAM officials stating that all gold items were stolen. After SAF regained control, videos published on YouTube and TV channels showed empty galleries, shattered showcases, broken statues, and burnt interior rooms, confirming the extent of loss.
International reports (Africanews, Cultural Property News) also highlight the disappearance of ancient mummies, some dating back to around 2500 BC, and the likely trafficking of artefacts towards South Sudan and western borders. Satellite-supported heritage assessments corroborate large-scale removal and destruction.
Due to the loss of paper-based inventories, the exact list of stolen artifacts cannot be established; however, the museum’s cultural devastation is considered total.
Images source:
YouTube:
Independent article:
Sudan Ethnographic Museum
15°36'28.85"N, 32°32'2.77"E
The Sudan Ethnographic Museum, located at the corner of El Mek Nimr and al-Gamaa Avenue in downtown Khartoum, was established in 1956 as a branch of the National Museum and later became independent. It showcased cultural artifacts illustrating the lifestyles, customs, and traditions of Sudan’s ethnic groups (e.g. tribal jewelry, nomadic tools, musical instruments, domestic objects). Since the start of the civil war in April 2023, the Ethnographic Museum has been subjected to looting and vandalism, with staff losing regular access and limited information available on the full damage to collections and storerooms. Many exhibits were disrupted, buildings damaged, and overall structural integrity compromised, as seen across Khartoum’s museum network. The museum had also begun a renovation and digitization project prior to the conflict, but that work was disrupted and remains incomplete. See roof damage below in imagery from April 2023 and November 2024.
April2023:
November 2024:
Study Centers
Industrial Research and Consultation Centre (IRCC)
15°36'28.85"N, 32°32'2.77"E
The Industrial Research and Consultation Centre (IRCC) (مركز البحوث والاستشارات الصناعية) in Khartoum, one of Sudan’s most important scientific institutions, was devastated on May 6, 2023, when a fire — reportedly set during RSF attacks — engulfed the facility, destroying decades of research archives, laboratories, and equipment. The IRCC had been a national hub for industrial development, supporting testing, quality certification, and technology transfer, and in 2020 it was recognized with a UNESCO Chair for Technology Transfer. The destruction not only crippled Sudan’s scientific and industrial capacity but also left visible scars on the environment: satellite and ground-level images show that the once-green tree line surrounding the complex was burned away or stripped, likely both from the fire and subsequent looting, with occupying forces cutting trees for fuel or to clear lines of sight.
The following imagery is from January 2023 and February 2025, so as to compare the trees seasonally. It becomes apparent when looking at these two images that there was extensive vegetation on the property before, but much of it was burned. Marks from two explosions in the dirt just outside of the property (on left) are also visible.
Muhammad Omar Bashir Centre for Sudanese Studies 15°37'44.02"N, 32°27'58.85"E
The Muhammad Omar Bashir Centre for Sudanese Studies at Omdurman Ahlia University (مركز محمد عمر بشير للدراسات السودانية) was destroyed in May 2023, when looters set a fire that consumed one of the country’s richest archives of historical, political, and cultural documents. For ten days, the Centre’s collections were plundered before the fire left behind nothing but charred shelves and ashes. The archive had been a vital resource for scholars and students of Sudanese history, preserving rare manuscripts, research, and records central to the nation’s intellectual life. Though the perpetrators were never formally identified, the attack occurred in an area under RSF control, and despite the Centre’s appeals, RSF forces did nothing to intervene. The destruction was described by the Centre’s director, Al-Mutassim Ahmed Al-Hajj, as a deliberate attempt to cripple higher education and erase Sudan’s cultural memory. Below is the University property, which was extensively damaged by fires.
Images are from April 2023 and January 2025
University of Gezira (Al-Jazirah Univ.)
14°23'17.94"N, 33°31'39.88"E
The University of Gezira in Wad Madani, Gezira State, was looted and vandalized by the RSF in multiple waves during the war. Between late December 2023 and early January 2024, RSF forces ransacked the administration, academic affairs, and student affairs offices, along with the International Hall, the university farm, and nearby professors’ homes. In July 2024, the RSF returned to the campus and targeted the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Laboratories, stealing medical equipment and heavily damaging the buildings. These repeated attacks left the university’s infrastructure in ruins and crippled its role as one of Sudan’s leading centers for higher education and research.
April 2023
June 2025. Note the buildings are now missing roofs, and the soccer field lines are gone.
Archaeological Sites
Pyramids of Meroe 18°33'50"N 31°54'59"E
The Pyramids of Meroë are part of the Archaeological Sites of the Island of Meroë UNESCO World Heritage site. They lie in a semi-desert area on the east side of the Nile about 200 km northeast of Khartoum, near Shendi, positioned between the Nile and Atbara Rivers. The region is sparsely populated and distant from active front lines of the current war, so the site is not under direct or immediate military threat.
No battles, shelling or troop movement have been reported in or near the archaeological zone. UNESCO alerts focus on secondary risks caused by the collapse of state protection, like the increased illegal digging and the absence of tourism police. Archaeologists and heritage monitors note signs of night digging in the wider Meroë region, but the pyramids themselves remain physically intact, with risks linked to a security vacuum.
Gebel Barkal and Napatan Sites 18°33'50"N 31°54'59"E
Jebel Barkal and the Napatan Sites form one of Sudan’s most significant archaeological site, located near Karima in Northern State. The complex includes Jebel Barkal mountain, temples carved and built for the cult of Amun, royal palaces, and pyramid fields. These monuments are among Sudan’s most internationally recognizable heritage sites, photographed and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage property.
The area has not been a direct battlefield in the 2023–2025 war, but the broader collapse of administrative capacity in Sudan means that site management, guarding, and archaeological supervision have stopped. With authorities unable to maintain security, the monuments are vulnerable to illegal digging, opportunistic looting, and unregulated access. Archaeological missions that previously operated at Jebel Barkal and nearby Napatan sites have suspended work, and there is currently no formal damage assessment. The principal risks is the absence of on-site protection, restricted mobility for professionals, and the general instability.
As a UNESCO protected site, its situation is well documented: here is a UNESCO urging actions to safeguard the site
Naqa
16°16'07"N 33°16'33"E
Naqa is one of Sudan’s principal archaeological cities, located 170 km northeast of Khartoum and part of the UNESCO World Heritage listing for the Island of Meroe. The site contains the Temple of Amun and a Roman-style kiosk, making it one of the most widely photographed and internationally recognized monuments of Sudan. The ruins stand in open semi-desert terrain and depend on continuous management and on-site supervision for protection.
Since the outbreak of the 2023–2025 war, Naqa has not been a fighting territory. Nevertheless, some reports in January 2024 referred to airstrikes in the broader Naqa–Musawwarat area. Comparison of available satellite imagery from 2023 and 2025 shows no visible structural damage, no crater signatures, and no landscape disruption consistent with a direct hit on the archaeological complex. Furthermore, if an airstrike had hit a UNESCO heritage site, broad documentation and reporting would have taken place, which is not the case; no official assessments have confirmed physical harm to any of the temples or monuments.
Nonetheless, the site remains in danger; a change affecting the site is the complete interruption of state oversight, leaving Naqa without effective monitoring. Separate Arabic-language reports describe militia-produced videos circulating on social media showing armed fighters inside or near the Naqa–Musawwarat zone. Source
indicating a loss of control over access even in the absence of confirmed physical destruction.
The Sudan Tribune published an article signaling the deployment of RSF near the Meroitic temples of Musawwarat and Naqaa: https://sudantribune.com/article/281363
2023:
2025:
As we can see, there is no distinguishable bombing or trace.
2023:
2025:
Again, no trace or difference.
RSF soldiers documentation in the site
The site:
RSF soldiers at the site:
Old Dongola
18°13'29"N 30°45'08"E
Old Dongola is an important medieval Nubian archaeological city located along the Nile in the Northern State. It served as the capital of the Christian kingdom of Makuria and contains some of Sudan’s most important heritage structures: the Throne Hall, the cruciform church, monastic complexes, decorated houses, extensive wall paintings, and cemeteries. The site has been excavated and documented for decades. It is not a UNESCO Heritage site, making an area at major risk due to possible lack of documentation in case of a warzone. Nevertheless, its in the UNESCO tentative list.
Thankfully, since the 2023–2025 war, Old Dongola did not experience any active fighting. Northern State is geographically distant from the main battle zones, and no news, organization, or official authority has reported shelling, airstrikes, or militia incursions at the site. However, the collapse of national administration and the withdrawal of foreign archaeological missions have left the site without regular supervision.
The PCMA mission publicly confirmed that all fieldwork at Old Dongola was suspended due to the war, and staff were evacuated, leaving ongoing conservation projects incomplete and removing the protective presence that typically deters looting and vandalism.
Omdurman Heritage Zone
Omdurman, the historic heart of Sudanese nationalism, has been one of the most violently affected urban areas in the 2023–2025 war. The area surrounding the Mahdi’s Tomb, Khalifa House Museum, and the Old Omdurman Souq with historic mosques, traditional neighborhoods with its inhabitants, and libraries has been struck by artillery, drone attacks, and prolonged street fighting.
Urban combat in central Omdurman is documented by Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, which reports continuous artillery fire and explosive incidents in the old districts of the city during clashes between SAF and RSF forces.
Shelling has struck central market areas, killing and injuring civilians. The February 2025 attack on Sabrin Market — in the broader Omdurman souq district — caused 52–56 deaths and more than 150 injuries. #
Source: Omdurman Market Attack Report
Sufi communities, merchants, craftsmen, and multi-generational residents who give Omdurman its cultural identity have been displaced as fighting destroyed the livelihoods, spaces, and social networks of the old city. Source
Historic mosques in Omdurman have also been hit. Sudan Tribune reports that RSF artillery struck a mosque in the Karrari area, killing five worshippers and injuring children. Source: Sudan Tribune
قبة المهدي — Mahdi’s Tomb
15°38'22"N 32°29'19"E
Mahdi’s Tomb remains one of Sudan’s most important national monuments. While fighting has occurred around the historic districts, there are no verified reports of direct physical damage to the structures during the 2023–2025 war. Al-Araby Al-Jadeed documents shelling “in the vicinity of Mahdist landmarks” but does not report impact on the tomb itself. Source
The tomb appears intact, but it is physically surrounded by a war zone.
بيت الخليفة — Khalifa House Museum
15°38'20"N 32°29'18"E
Unlike the tomb across the street, the Khalifa House Museum was fully looted and vandalized during the war.
Dabanga Sudan reports the theft and destruction of Mahdist-era artifacts inside the museum, including weapons, household items, ceremonial objects, and displays. Source
Al-Rakoba published statements and video evidence shared by Sudanese officers showing broken showcases, emptied collections, and destroyed cultural property. Source
Al-Jazeera Arabic (culture section) also confirms widespread destruction and looting inside the museum’s interior. The looting is systemic and ideological. Even artefacts with cheap value have been looted. Source
Museum artefacts Before:
Artefacts during the war:
سوق أم درمان — Omdurman Souq
15.6377° N, 32.4809° E
Al-Jazeera Arabic documented that the souq was engulfed in clashes and arson during the RSF advances in 2023 and 2024. Source
The February 2025 artillery strike on the market area killed more than 50 civilians. Source
YouTube and regional Sudanese outlets show burned storefronts, collapsed structures, and debris-filled alleys in the Omdurman market district:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UThPG78fEzE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrhFVmSK5d
We can notice the differences through the satellites. The 2022 picture demonstrates a dynamic souq (market), while the 2024 picture demonstrates an abandoned area.
2022:
2024:
Within the picture, we can notice that the local library next to the mosque was bombed in its courtyard
2022:
2024:
We can observe the abandonment of the whole area:
Furthermore, we can notice that the area around the souk was bombed and destroyed, as seen in this photo, for example, where you can see destroyed buildings and a bombing crater.
2022:
2024:
Archaeological Sites
Mosques
RSF attacks on mosques follow a clear, repeated pattern that shows these sites are not being hit incidentally but through systematic, high-risk targeting. First, strikes consistently occur during prayer times, maximizing civilian casualties and disrupting the religious life of already-traumatized communities. Second, RSF uses indiscriminate or deliberately aimed artillery and drones against mosques that they frame as “military positions.”
Here are some examples demonstrating the destruction/assault of mosques.
Tijaniyya Mosque - :مسجد التجانية
El Fasher (North Darfur)
Image 1 Image 2
Image number 2 is taken from a YouTube video filmed by an RSF soldier. It shows the Tijaniyya Mosque bearing signs of sustained close-range and medium-range weapons impact. The entire exterior façade is marked with circular perforations consistent with small-caliber projectile strikes.
The building’s corners and central sections show larger breach points that may correspond to heavier-caliber or fragments from nearby explosions. The windows are damaged and missing glass. The dome remains intact in shape but shows discoloration and surface scarring, indicating proximity to blast events. Overall, the damage reflects purposeful repeated attacks rather than incidental strikes
Al-Masjid al-ʿAtiq/El Fasher
(North Darfur)
Image 1 Image 2
Image 1, taken from the same RSF-filmed YouTube footage, shows المسجد العتيق bearing widespread ballistic and fragmentation damage. The façade is marked by dense small- to medium-caliber impact points, indicating sustained gunfire and nearby explosive activity. Arched sections and window frames show surface erosion, while the minaret displays similar perforations, proving fire from multiple directions rather than an isolated strike. Despite the building remaining intact, the pattern reflects repeated, close-range engagements that have degraded both the structural integrity and historical character of المسجد العتيق, a key religious and cultural landmark for El Fashir. Source
Mosque in al-Daraja/El Fasher
(North Darfur)
Another case of war crimes on religious sites is the Drone Strike on a Mosque, which killed 84 people in El-Fasher. Source
King Farouk Mosque
Khartoum Image
1: 30 November 2024
Image 2: 30 January 2024
We can distinguish in Image 1 a partially fallen tree, ground disturbance, changes in surrounding vegetation, and minor exterior edge irregularities compared to Image 2 before RSF assault on Khartoum, which strongly suggests that an explosive event occurred near King Farouk Mosque between the two imaging dates. There is no sign of a direct roof-penetrating strike, but the evidence indicates a nearby blast significant enough to damage trees and alter the immediate environment.
Churches
With the help of the ARIJ investigation (one of the strongest pieces of journalism on cultural/religious site destruction in Sudan). We can assess the destruction, looting, and assault of multiple churches. Source
Melkite Greek Catholic Church - Khartoum
15°36'25"N 32°32'13"E
For over two years, the duration of the war in Khartoum, the church remained empty of worshippers, many of whom are Syrian refugees. An investigation, supported by satellite imagery and a video recorded after the Sudanese army regained control of the Presidential Palace and its surrounding area north of Khartoum (the church is located approximately 750 meters from the palace), suggests that members of the Rapid Support Forces occupied the church.
On the northern face of the church compound wall overlooking Parliament Street, we observed a security barrier. On the southern side, on Republic Street, we documented another barrier approximately 25 meters away; both were erected during the Rapid Support Forces' control of the area. In the church courtyard, we identified several beds and tombstones, suggesting the presence of individuals. Inside the church nave, we located a box, which an explosive and ballistics expert, who analyzed several pieces of collected evidence, concluded was intended for military purposes.
The Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary - Omdurman
15°39'08"N 32°29'00"E
Analysis of several photographs confirmed that a clash had occurred within the churchyard, which evidence suggests was being used as a headquarters by individuals affiliated with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). We observed bullet holes in the walls of the churchyard and an adjacent building. One wall was also damaged by a direct hit from an air-to-ground missile, likely launched from a drone, according to a ballistics expert's analysis.
The evidence suggests that individuals affiliated with the RSF—which controlled the Al-Masalma neighborhood until its withdrawal in January 2024—were residing inside the church. Several projectiles also damaged buildings adjacent to the church. Inside the church itself, the altar was broken, and statues of Christ were desecrated. We also observed signs of damage to one of the walls.
St. Matthew's Catholic Cathedral - Khartoum
15°36'37"N 32°32'01"E
Less than 400 meters from the Presidential Palace have observed Rapid Support Forces (RSF) soldiers were observed in November 2023, and the army recaptured it on March 20, 2025. A Catholic clergyman in Khartoum, who requested anonymity, confirmed that the RSF used the cathedral as a headquarters for a period during the war, according to his testimony. Based on the videos we collected of the cathedral and its grounds, it is likely that RSF members resided there for some time, as we observed evidence of their presence within the cathedral building.
Extensive damage to the cathedral building can be documented, including the desecration of the Christ the Redeemer statue, the destruction of two altars, and damage to the roof. Adjacent buildings such as the priests' residence and the library are also damaged because of projectiles. We recorded the damage in two periods: the first from the outbreak of war until the end of November 2024, and the second between December 1, 2024, and February 16, 2025, including the projectiles that struck the cathedral's roof.
Image 1
Image 2
Image 3
Initiatives to protect Sudanese Heritage
Despite the scale and irreversibility of the destruction affecting Sudan’s cultural landscape, several initiatives continue to document, safeguard, and advocate for the protection of what remains of the country’s heritage.
Sudan Memory provides one of the most comprehensive digital preservation efforts, collecting and publishing photographs, manuscripts, oral histories, and community archives to ensure that cultural records survive even when physical collections are at risk.
UNESCO, through its call to fight illicit trafficking of Sudanese cultural property, coordinates with international partners to prevent looted artifacts from entering the global market, reinforcing legal and diplomatic mechanisms designed to protect endangered collections.
Meanwhile, the Sudan Heritage Protection Initiative focuses on training, monitoring, and emergency documentation, offering heritage professionals and volunteers tools to record damage and raise international awareness.
Although the devastation across museums, archaeological sites, and religious structures is severe (and in some cases permanent), these initiatives demonstrate that the international community is actively working to preserve the remaining traces of Sudan’s cultural identity. Their efforts ensure that, even amid conflict, the historical and artistic imprint of Sudan continues to be recognized, protected, and transmitted to future generations.
It is very important to outline that these international efforts would not be possible without the engagement of hundreds/thousands of Sudanese citizens across the planet to safeguard their culture and fight their silencing by expressing themselves on every platform that allows them to. Their courage and resilience in documenting are admirable.
A special thanks to all the Sudanese Community for standing for their culture. السلام عليكم