Looting of the Sudan National Museum – more is at stake than priceless ancient treasures

Reports continue to emerge of the alleged looting of tens of thousands of artefacts from the Sudan National Museum in Khartoum. The museum, near the confluence of the White and the Blue Niles, holds a history of the region, home to ancient civilisations, temples and pyramids. But it has been caught in the crossfire in a war between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces that has left millions displaced and devastated the built environment. Mohamed Albdri Sliman Bashir is an archaeology scholar who knows the museum intimately. We asked him what’s at stake.

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When was the museum established and what is its importance?