{"id":79,"date":"2026-05-22T05:08:21","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T05:08:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=79"},"modified":"2026-05-22T05:08:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T05:08:21","slug":"sudans-war-has-left-thousands-missing-many-are-buried-in-unmarked-graves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=79","title":{"rendered":"Sudan\u2019s war has left thousands missing. Many are buried in unmarked graves"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) \u2014 It was a classic husband\u2019s phone call. He was done for the day and would stop at the market before coming home. But he was returning from war, not work.<\/p>\n

Read more Trump says he\u2019s sending 5,000 more troops to Poland, stirring confusion about US presence in Europe<\/a><\/p>\n

Fahmy al-Fateh never made it home. His wife, Azaher Abdallah, started calling friends and family, then turned to his colleagues in Sudan<\/span> \u2018s army. Her husband was last seen leaving a military base in the capital, Khartoum, on a motorcycle. That was over a year ago.<\/p>\n

Now the couple\u2019s 3-year-old son shouts at every passing motorcycle, thinking it\u2019s his father, Abdallah said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was the most precious thing in my life,\u201d she said, sobbing and burying her face in her hands. \u201cI would feel more at peace if I knew something. It\u2019s better than not knowing what happened to him, whether he\u2019s alive or dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her husband is one of more than 8,000 people who have gone missing during Sudan\u2019s three years of war<\/span>, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross. The conflict has torn families apart. People have been separated while fleeing, or gone missing during fighting. Others are quietly detained, leaving friends and relatives in agony trying to learn their fate.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Many of those missing in Khartoum state are thought to be in unmarked graves where tens of thousands of bodies have been found since Sudan\u2019s army retook the capital last year from paramilitary fighters.<\/p>\n

It was often too dangerous to bury bodies in cemeteries while fighting raged. People dug graves wherever they could.<\/p>\n

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Driving through the city last month, Associated Press reporters saw soccer fields and cemeteries overflowing with the dead. Mounds of dirt beside a defunct gas station had makeshift signs with names and dates, but many were unmarked.<\/p>\n

A member of the military media accompanied the AP during the visit, including during interviews. The AP retains full editorial control of its content.<\/p>\n

The ICRC said it had resolved over 1,000 cases of the missing but would not say how many were alive or dead.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u2018I haven\u2019t lost faith in finding you\u2019<\/h2>\n

Abdallah was sleeping when her husband left the house before sunrise last January. Al-Fateh, a 38-year-old farmer and merchant, had joined Sudan\u2019s army when the war began. That day, he was helping to retake Khartoum from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.<\/p>\n

Since then, the 30-year-old Abdallah has combed the city, visited hospital morgues and asked the army for help. Her husband\u2019s unit said they\u2019d try to find him. If she didn\u2019t hear anything, they said, consider him missing.<\/p>\n

At home on the outskirts of Khartoum, she scrolls through photos of him in uniform, still believing that one day he\u2019ll return.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is what my heart tells me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Psychologists say the uncertainty surrounding missing loved ones can cause years of profound distress.<\/p>\n

Read more Alberta province plans a public vote on whether to hold a binding referendum on leaving Canada<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cFamilies of missing persons experience additional layers of vulnerabilities due to hostilities, displacement and ambiguous loss,\u201d said Nathalie Nyamukeba, a psychologist with the ICRC.<\/p>\n

Some families in Sudan say the only way to deal with it is to keep searching.<\/p>\n

Sulafa Mustafa\u2019s son went missing two years ago. A shy boy, 18-year-old Suleiman Abdalsid went to a friend\u2019s house near Khartoum and never came home.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

His mother tirelessly traveled through the streets, even as the sounds of shelling echoed, going door to door. She has visited hospitals and prisons, and showed countless strangers his photo.<\/p>\n

She has even rented a microphone to shout his name.<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t lost faith in finding you,\u201d she said, and covered her face with her hands.<\/p>\n

\u2018What happened had left a mark on my heart\u2019<\/h2>\n

Finding people alive or dead is challenging in Sudan, especially as the war continues. Labs that could have been used for DNA testing have been destroyed, and few forensic specialists remain.<\/p>\n

In Khartoum state, authorities have moved nearly 30,000 bodies \u2014 of some 50,000 \u2014 that had been hastily buried near houses, in sports fields or by the road when the RSF controlled the area. Their work continues.<\/p>\n

About 10% of bodies that have been reburied are unidentified.<\/p>\n

Hisham Zienalabdien, director general of the forensic medicine department for Khartoum state, said they are saving DNA from unidentified bodies in hopes of one day being able to match it with relatives.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

For families who have found loved ones but can\u2019t properly bury them, there is a different kind of pain.<\/p>\n

Abubakar Alswai waited more than a year to move his 73-year-old brother, Mohamed, from where he had been buried in front of his house into a public cemetery.<\/p>\n

The RSF had killed Mohamed but waited three weeks before granting a neighbor permission to bury his bullet-hit and decomposing remains. In Islamic tradition, largely followed in Sudan, funerals take place as quickly as possible, ideally within 24 hours.<\/p>\n

Alswai wiped tears from his cheeks as he watched grave diggers remove his brother\u2019s remains. At least now Mohamed will get the dignified burial he deserves, he said, and his family will have some peace.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cWhat happened had left a mark on my heart,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

For more on Africa and development: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/africa-pulse<\/span><\/p>\n

The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP\u2019s standards<\/span> for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Read more Brazilian grieving father says justice still missing after Airbus, Air France guilty verdict<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fahmy al-Fateh never made it home from war in Sudan. His wife, Azaher Abdallah, has been searching for him for over a year. Their son shouts at every passing motorcycle, thinking it’s his father. According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, more than 8,000 people have gone missing during Sudan’s three-year war. Many are thought to be in unmarked graves. The conflict has torn families apart, leaving them in agony. Some families keep searching, hoping for closure. Authorities are taking DNA from unidentified bodies, hoping to match them with relatives one day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":78,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-79","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"yoast_head":"\nSudan\u2019s war has left thousands missing. 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