Sudan's war leaves dead without graves

Outside his bullet-riddled home in Sudan's war-ravaged capital, Jamil Morjan stood with his hands raised in prayer for his mother's soul over a mound of earth.

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There was no headstone — just a rough wooden plank marking the spot where his mother lay buried.

“We couldn't take her to a cemetery,” he told AFP, his bloodshot eyes laden with exhaustion.

When his mother died in March 2024, the Sudanese capital was a war zone, torn apart by nearly a year of fighting between the regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

Roads were choked with rubble, snipers lurked on rooftops, and fighters roamed the streets, robbing or assaulting civilians as they pleased.

Morjan had no choice. “We were forced to bury her outside our front door,” he told AFP.