A new report by Heritage for Peace, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving cultural artifacts in times of war, has detailed the destruction and looting of museums and cultural sites during Sudan’s civil war. The cultural heritage NGO has been in touch with local researchers and archaeologists and says at least 28 cultural and archaeological sites around the country have been targeted or suffered damage. Some sites including several universities are being used for military purposes, according to Mahassin Yousif, an archaeologist at Bahri University. Meanwhile, parties outside Sudan are quickly drawing up plans to evacuate the antiquities to safety. Sudan has two Unesco world heritage sites: Meroe Island, home to one of the largest pyramid complexes in Africa; and Jebel Barkal, a sacred sandstone mountain close to tombs, temples and palaces that dot the course of the Nile River. Both are in areas that are relatively calm.
SOURCE:DW