Landslide kills around 1,000 in Sudan’s Darfur amid ongoing civil war
Additional media reports indicate that delivering aid to the area has been difficult, with rescuers struggling to recover and properly bury those buried by the landslide amid dangerous mountain conditions and ongoing fighting.
A huge landslide in western Sudan's Darfur region has destroyed the village of Tarasin, killing around 1,000 people, the rebel group that controls the area reported on Monday.
According to the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A), the landslide occurred on Sunday after several days of heavy rain in the Marra Mountains.
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"Initial information indicates the death of all village residents, estimated to be more than one thousand individuals, with only one survivor," the SLM/A said in a statement on Monday.
SLM/A added that Tarasin was "completely levelled to the ground" and asked the United Nations and international aid agencies for help to recover the bodies, including children.
Additional media reports indicate that delivering aid to the area has been difficult, with rescuers struggling to recover and properly bury those buried by the landslide amid dangerous mountain conditions and ongoing fighting.
The disaster comes as Sudan enters its third year of civil war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), creating one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.
Estimates of casualties from Sudan's civil war differ widely, but a US official last year put the death toll at as many as 150,000 since fighting began in 2023. The conflict has also forced roughly 12 million people to flee their homes
Parts of Darfur are already facing famine, and people fleeing the fighting in North Darfur have taken shelter in the Marra Mountains, where food and medicine remain scarce. Factions of the SLM/A have similarly pledged to fight alongside Sudanese army forces against the RSF.
Fighting in Darfur has also intensified, particularly in the city of el-Fasher, after the Sudanese army regained control of the capital, Khartoum, from the RSF in March.
El-Fasher, the last major city in Darfur under army control, has been under RSF siege for more than a year.
The paramilitary group, which lost control over much of central Sudan earlier this year, is now seeking to consolidate its power in the west.
In late July, the RSF announced the creation of a parallel government in Sudan with the paramilitary commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, named head of the 15-member presidential council.
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