Dealing with the Dead in the Aftermath of Sudan’s Devastating War

In a makeshift morgue in Khartoum, engineer‑turned‑mortician Ali Gebbai scrolls through a spreadsheet of the dead. Thousands of entries, each with a photo and burial site, keep a harrowing record of Sudan’s war, now in its fourth year.

Gebbai and his volunteer team photograph every body they find. They search pockets for clues, then wait 72 hours on social media for a family to claim the deceased. If no one comes, they wash the body according to Muslim custom, wrap it in a clean white shroud, and bury it nearby.

That modest ritual is far more than most victims receive. Across Sudan, the dead are often laid in shallow graves where they fell—in courtyards, playgrounds, or street corners. The capital’s four morgues were all forced out of service by the fighting. One was completely destroyed in a strike; its compressors looted, bodies rotting inside.

Since the army recaptured Khartoum a year ago, authorities have exhumed and reburied around 28,000 people—and have cleared only half the capital. Ethnic massacres in Darfur and drone strikes in Kordofan continue to add to the toll. Aid workers estimate more than 200,000 dead.

There is no working DNA lab in Sudan. To preserve hope of future identification, officials remove small bones or hair from anonymous bodies and bury the samples separately, marked clearly.

The International Committee of the Red Cross says at least 11,000 people are missing. “The lack of closure for families leaves an open wound,” said Jose Luis Pozo Gil, the ICRC’s deputy Sudan chief.

Gebbai recalls one young man who searched for his father and uncle for over a year. He finally learned they had been shot dead in the street in the early weeks of the war. “He collapsed and cried for a long time,” Gebbai said. But at last, he could visit their graves.

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