Accusations Against “Rapid Support Forces” of Looting Rare “Meteorites” in Khartoum

The Sudanese Ministry of Minerals has accused the “Rapid Support Forces” (RSF) of looting rare meteorites and petrified trees from the Natural Phenomena Exhibition in the capital, Khartoum.

The RSF, which had controlled most of Khartoum State, targeted several museums, including the Presidential Palace Museums, the Armed Forces Museum, the Khalifa House Museum, the Ethnographic Museum, and the Natural History Museum at the University of Khartoum, in addition to the Sultan Ali Dinar Museum in El Fasher, North Darfur State.

According to a statement issued by the General Authority for Geological Research — the technical arm of the Ministry of Minerals — the RSF stole items from Sudan’s Natural Phenomena Exhibition, which included a collection of rare meteorites as well as petrified trees.

The statement detailed that the stolen meteorites included the “Umm Al-Harair” meteorite, which fell in North Darfur State in 2012 and weighs 75 kilograms; the “Al-Hareeq Village” meteorite in Al-Khoy, West Kordofan State, which fell in 2011 and weighs 2.9 kilograms; and the “Al-Sunqur” meteorite, which fell west of Abu Hamed City in the Bayouda Desert, weighing 1,010 kilograms and consisting of iron and nickel.

The stolen items also included the “Al-Abbasiya” meteorite from South Kordofan and the “Al-Tabun” meteorite from White Nile State.

The statement noted that the theft of the meteorites was carried out in an organized and deliberate manner, as transporting them requires heavy machinery. It emphasized that the meteorites’ value lies in their scientific importance rather than their material worth.

The authority also reported the destruction of one of its largest museums in Sudan, the Sheikh Mohammed Abdul Rahman Exhibition, which housed samples of minerals and rocks collected through field missions.

The statement condemned the destruction of the General Authority for Geological Research facilities, describing it as a criminal act and a systematic retaliatory behavior targeting vital state institutions.

It pointed out that since its establishment in 1905, the Authority has been monitoring, studying, and recording the impacts of natural phenomena, such as meteorite falls, earthquakes, and volcanoes, by dispatching geological missions. It had also established a specialized meteorite museum, which was open to visitors, earth science enthusiasts, and students.

In a second statement, the Authority revealed that a special committee had begun rescuing some samples from the Sheikh Mohammed Abdul Rahman Hall, which had been completely destroyed by the RSF.

The statement explained that a geological team collected the remaining samples from the rubble, noting that the Sheikh Hall was one of the largest geological exhibition museums in Sudan, containing a diverse collection of rock samples and mineral ores.