The renowned British newspaper The Telegraph has published what has been described as one of the most comprehensive and in-depth reports on the destruction inflicted upon Sudan’s cultural and historical heritage by the militia, alongside the ongoing efforts to restore parts of it and to seek British expertise and funding to complete the restoration and recover plundered artifacts.
The report, prepared by British arts correspondent Craig Simpson, who visited Khartoum at the arrangement of Minister of Culture, Information, Tourism and Antiquities Khalid Al-Eisir, included a tour of several museums in Khartoum State. It focused particularly on the destruction of the Old Presidential Palace — the historic site where British General Charles George Gordon was killed in 1885 by Mahdist forces led by Muhammad Ahmad Al-Mahdi, in an incident that marked a pivotal moment in Britain’s colonial history in Sudan.
Simpson drew a comparison between that historic event and the recent vandalism and pillaging of the palace during the war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the terrorist Rapid Support Forces militia, underscoring the site’s historical and political symbolism.
The coverage also addressed the extensive damage inflicted on cultural institutions, including the Sudan National Museum, the Palace Museum, and the Ethnographic Museum, where thousands of artifacts were stolen — including items from the Kingdom of Kush — while historic buildings were burned and partially destroyed.
The newspaper quoted officials in the antiquities sector who affirmed that the attacks targeted Sudan’s cultural identity, in addition to the heavy human toll caused by the war.
The report further highlighted the Sudanese government’s efforts to restore the Presidential Palace and other heritage sites, with plans to seek British support through the Cultural Protection Fund managed by the British Council, as well as to explore broader international funding avenues for restoration projects that may cost millions of pounds sterling.
For his part, Minister of Culture, Information, Tourism and Antiquities Khalid Al-Eisir praised the coverage, describing it as “one of the most beautiful and truthful journalistic reports” addressing the current state of Sudanese heritage. He affirmed that the Presidential Palace symbolizes the historic relations between Sudan and the United Kingdom, and that its rehabilitation represents an important step toward restoring national memory and safeguarding the country’s cultural identity.
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