Volunteers have begun clearing the streets of Sudan's capital, Khartoum, where houses are pockmarked with bullet holes, fallen trees are blocking roads and power lines are broken.

It is the city's first reconstruction effort since war began over two years ago between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has left the capital battered.

The reconstruction is led by government agencies and youth-led volunteer groups who have started to repair hospitals, schools and water and power networks.

The UN estimates the rehabilitation of the capital's essential facilities to cost around $350 million, while the full rebuilding of Khartoum "will take years:

The UN expects up to two million people to make their way back to Khartoum by the end of the year.

"We are working to restore the state's infrastructure," volunteer Mostafa Awad said.

Unexploded ordnance

The UN warns Khartoum is "heavily contaminated by unexploded ordnance", and this month said landmines have been discovered across the capital.

Sudan's war has killed tens of thousands, displaced 13 million and plunged the nation into the world's worst hunger and displacement crisis.

About four million residents were displaced by fighting in Khartoum before the army pushed the RSF out of the city in March.

"All the cables have been taken away from homes, all the pipes have been destroyed," the UN's resident and humanitarian coordinator Luca Renda told AFP, describing systematic looting of both small and large-scale items.

Vast swathes of Khartoum are without electricity, and with no reliable water supply, a cholera outbreak gripped the city this summer. Health officials reported up to 1,500 new cases a day in June, according to the UN.

On his first visit to Khartoum last month, Sudan's prime minister pledged a wide-scale recovery effort.

"Khartoum will return as a proud national capital," Kamil Idris said.

‘Life still difficult’

The government has begun planning its return from its wartime capital Port Sudan. On Tuesday, it announced central Khartoum - the devastated business and government district - would be evacuated and redesigned.

Residents who have already returned, estimated to be in the tens of thousands, say life is still difficult, but there's reason for hope.

"Honestly, there is an improvement in living conditions," said Ali Mohamed, who recently returned.

"There is more stability now, and real services are beginning to come back, like water, electricity and even basic medical care."