Over 100 new mass graves found in Sudan’s capital, official says

June 7, 2025 (KHARTOUM) – At least 117 new mass graves have been discovered across Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, a state government official said, as the country’s 14-month conflict leaves thousands dead and cemeteries overflowing.

The war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has led to the burial of bodies in makeshift sites, including homes and streets, the Khartoum state government source told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Fighting since April 2023 has devastated the capital’s three cities—Khartoum, Omdurman, and Bahri—and triggered a severe humanitarian crisis. National death toll estimates from the conflict vary widely, from 20,000 to as high as 130,000, according to different assessments.

A separate source at the state’s health ministry, also speaking anonymously, said that around 3,000 people had died in recent months from diseases and other health-related causes as the conflict crippled the healthcare system. The source said he could not provide a figure for those killed in the fighting.

Earlier this year, authorities began exhuming bodies from informal graves in Omdurman to move them to official cemeteries, the state official said.

The remains of military personnel from both warring factions were among those exhumed and reburied in recognized graveyards.

According to the official, the newly found burial sites differ in capacity, with some holding dozens of bodies and others as few as three or four.

The conflict has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions internally, and forced hundreds of thousands to flee to neighboring countries.