2024-01-16 23:33:27
– The fights reach world heritage sites
The war in Sudan threatens the remains of the kingdom of Kouch, more than 2,300 years old, and classified as a UNESCO world heritage site.
Published today at 12:33 a.m.
“The ancient civilizations of Sudan erected more pyramids than those of Egypt but remain largely unknown.”
AFP
The fighting has spread to UNESCO World Heritage sites in Sudan, where two generals have been clashing for nine months, an NGO reported late Tuesday, sounding the alarm for the remains of the kingdom of Kouch, which is more than 2300 years old.
The Regional Network for Cultural Rights said in a statement that it “strongly condemns the incursion of the Rapid Support Forces (FSR)”, the feared paramilitaries of General Mohammed Hamdane Daglo, at war against the army of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane since April 15, “at the sites of Naqa and Musawwarat es-Sufra.”
This “second incursion” took place on Sunday, says the NGO, after “a first on December 3, 2023” on these religious sites located in Nile State, in the north of the country. The Nile State authorities also reported “an incursion by the RSF, repelled by the air force”, affirming that “calm has returned” but without reporting any potential damage.
Little-known civilizations
The Regional Network for Cultural Rights says it has consulted “reliable sources, images and videos posted on social media showing fighting between the army and the RSF which likely exposed the sites to vandalism, destruction, looting and theft.
According to UNESCO, “the archaeological sites of the island of Meroe, a semi-desert landscape between the Nile and the Atbara, seat of the sovereigns who occupied Egypt for nearly a century, contain pyramids, temples, and residential buildings as well as major water management facilities.
The ancient civilizations of Sudan erected more pyramids than those of Egypt but remain largely unknown. The island of Meroe, 220 km north of Khartoum, is classified as a world heritage site and was the subject of an exhibition at the Louvre in 2010.
This civilization (from the 3rd century BC to the 4th century AD) had borrowed cultural traits from Pharaonic Egypt, Greece then Rome, adding to an African substrate. Since April 15, the war between the army and the FSR has left more than 13,000 dead, according to a very underestimated report from the NGO Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (Acled). In addition, more than seven million people have been displaced, according to the UN.
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