At least 8,000 people were reported missing in war-ravaged Sudan in 2024, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Wednesday, warning that the figure is just "the tip of the iceberg."

"These are just the cases we have collected directly," Daniel O'Malley, head of the ICRC delegation in Sudan, told AFP in an interview.

"We know this is just a small percentage — the tip of the iceberg — of the whole caseload of missing," he added.

As Sudan's brutal conflict entered its third year, O'Malley said the ICRC was not only working to trace missing persons but also focusing on bolstering forensic capacity within Sudan to help identify victims years later and ensure their proper burial.

"When people are buried, they should be buried in a dignified manner," he said.

For families of the missing, the pain of not knowing where their loved ones are may remain "an open wound" long after the war ends, he added.

Sudan's war, which erupted in April 2023, has killed tens of thousands, displaced 13 million and triggered what the United Nations describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

The conflict has pitted the forces of army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against those of his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who leads the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

In recent days, the vast western region of Darfur has seen some of the deadliest battles since the conflict erupted.

The United Nations said on Monday that over 400 people had been killed in recent attacks on El-Fasher — the last army-held state capital in Darfur — and nearby displacement camps.

The RSF has ramped up its assaults on El-Fasher after the army recaptured the capital Khartoum last month.

"We are deeply concerned about what is happening in El-Fasher," O'Malley said, urging all parties to guarantee "safe passage in order for civilians to be able to exit safely".

"There is a need for all the parties involved to take the responsibility and to ensure that this is done," he added.

'Emotional consequences'

The ICRC official also warned of widespread and systematic sexual violence in the Sudan conflict — describing the incidents as "even higher than we've seen in other conflicts".

"We're seeing cases obviously of women, but also very young children and even men," O'Malley said.

The official added that sexual violence carries long-lasting effects on survivors, adding that even "if peace comes to Sudan... the humanitarian and emotional consequences will go on for a long time."

International rights groups, including Amnesty International and the UN, have previously accused RSF fighters of using sexual violence, including rape, sexual slavery and forced marriages, as a weapon of war.

The RSF has dismissed the accusations as propaganda.

O'Malley also voiced particular concern over grassroots Sudanese organisations — often the first line of support for survivors — being crippled by US funding cuts.

Shortly after his inauguration last month, US President Donald Trump froze US foreign aid and announced the dismantling of the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

Though waivers were promised for life-saving assistance, many Sudanese groups say no support has materialised.

O'Malley said that international organisations can withstand the cuts, but "grassroots organisations, which are working on the ground, don't have that cushion".

"These are the ones that have been affected," he added.