Press Statement

The Republic of Sudan

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Office of the Official Spokesperson and Media Directorate

Press Statement

31/25

Each passing day reveals the grave and far-reaching dimensions of the criminal scheme being executed by the terrorist Janjaweed militia and its regional sponsor against the Sudanese nation: its people, national state, cultural heritage, historical memory, and economic and academic infrastructure.

The liberation of Khartoum State, following the legendary heroism displayed by the Armed Forces and supporting forces, has unveiled the unimaginable extent that the atrocities by the terrorist militia against the civilians had reached. This has been starkly illustrated by the discovery of mass graves containing thousands of victims, including hostages and kidnapped citizens, in clandestine torture centers scattered across the capital, while survivors were found on the edge of death.

Also increasingly emerging is the systematic and orchestrated targeting by the criminal militia and its sponsor of Sudan’s historical and cultural heritage. This has been exemplified by the deliberate destruction of the Sudan National Museum and the looting of all its invaluable artifacts, which encapsulate 7,000 years of civilization. Additionally, all other museums in the greater capital have been ransacked, including the Khalifa House Museum, the Ethnographic Museum, the Republican Palace Museum, the Armed Forces Museum, and the Natural History Museum at the University of Khartoum, as well as the Sultan Ali Dinar Museum in El Fasher.

The archaeological collections of the National Museum have been looted and smuggled across two neighboring countries. Simultaneously, the savage militia has attacked the National Records House, numerous public and private libraries, universities, laboratories, mosques, and churches of historical significance in Khartoum and Wad Madani. These actions indicate a premeditated design to erase Sudan’s national cultural identity.

These heinous assaults constitute war crimes under Article 8 of the Rome Statute, the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, and the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Prohibition of Illicit Trade in Cultural Property. Furthermore, they mirror the actions of terrorist groups that target historical sites and cultural heritage.

The Government of Sudan will continue its efforts in coordination with UNESCO, INTERPOL, and all relevant international organizations to recover the looted artifacts and to bring those responsible for these crimes to account.

In the same vein, Sudan calls upon the international community to unequivocally condemn these terrorist acts perpetrated by the militia and its backrs.

Issued on Tuesday, April 1, 2025

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