A race against time has begun to save Sudan's cultural heritage. As the conflict between the Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) drags on, organizations are working to protect important monuments.
The Heritage for Peace association has prepared evacuation plans for a number of museums and documented the damage caused to various sites. The group has also stationed guards near archaeological areas outside the capital Khartoum.
The group is particularly concerned about the safety of the Egyptian temple of Bouhen in the far north of the country, as well as the tomb of Muhammad Ahmad, more commonly known as the Mahdi, who fought against British colonial rule in the second half of the 19th century.
Yet some museums have already suffered damage. RSF fighters reportedly entered the bioarchaeology laboratory of Khartoum's National Museum and opened containers filled with ancient human remains. According to the Cultural Heritage Monitoring Lab, some of the museum's buildings were also hit by fire.
Nonetheless, the famous pyramids of Meroe are still intact. But air strikes are continuing around Khartoum, Bahri and Omdourman, areas home to numerous temples and monuments, and the cradle of the Kerma civilization.
"Sudan is a very rich country not only for its heritage with ancient Egypt, but also for Christianity in Africa. It's the heart of Africa [...] It's really a whole living culture with thousands of years of continuity. That's what's under threat, and it's so sad to see," Sada Mire, a Swedish-Somali archaeologist from University College London, told media.
The rise in tensions in Sudan began in mid-April. Fighting broke out between Abdel Fattah al-Bourhan's army and the paramilitaries of Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, his former right-hand man.
A truce was reached on May 20 allowing the establishment of humanitarian corridors and the evacuation of civilians and foreign diplomats. However, international mediators deplored ceasefire violations in various places. A new 24-hour ceasefire was announced on June 10.