According to the ICRC, more than 8,000 missing-person cases have been recorded during the war, although the organization said it had resolved over 1,000 cases and declined to specify how many involved people found alive or deceased.

Many of those missing in Khartoum state are believed to be among the thousands of bodies discovered in makeshift graves after the army regained control of the capital from RSF fighters last year. During intense fighting, residents often buried the dead near homes, roadsides and public spaces because access to cemeteries was too dangerous.

Associated Press reporters visiting Khartoum last month observed improvised burial sites in sports fields and other urban areas, with many graves lacking identification markers. A military media representative accompanied the reporting team during the visit.

Khartoum state authorities have relocated nearly 30,000 bodies from an estimated 50,000 hastily dug graves scattered across the region, according to forensic officials. The reburial effort remains ongoing as authorities work to identify the dead.

Hisham Zienalabdien, director general of Khartoum state’s forensic medicine department, said approximately 10% of recovered bodies remain unidentified. Authorities are preserving DNA samples from those remains in hopes that future testing will allow relatives to confirm identities.

Efforts to identify victims have been hampered by extensive wartime destruction. Laboratories that could conduct DNA analysis have been damaged or destroyed, while many forensic specialists have fled the country or are no longer able to work.

The uncertainty has left thousands of families searching for answers. Relatives continue visiting hospitals, morgues, detention centers and military facilities in attempts to locate loved ones who disappeared during military operations, displacement or detention.

Humanitarian organizations say the psychological burden of not knowing whether relatives are alive or dead has compounded the suffering caused by conflict and displacement. The ICRC said families of missing persons face heightened vulnerabilities stemming from ongoing hostilities and prolonged uncertainty.

The war has also complicated traditional burial practices. In many cases, families have been unable to retrieve or properly bury relatives killed during fighting, forcing communities to conduct emergency burials near homes and neighborhoods.

Sudan’s conflict has generated one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises, with widespread destruction, mass displacement and severe disruptions to public services across large parts of the country.