Cairo — A landslide wiped out a village in Sudan ‘s western region of Darfur, killing an estimated 1,000 people in one of the deadliest natural disasters in the African country’s recent history, a rebel group controlling the area said late Monday.
The tragedy happened Sunday in the Tarasin village in Central Darfur’s Marrah Mountains after days of heavy rainfall in late August, the Sudan Liberation Movement-Army said in a statement.
“Initial information indicates the death of all village residents, estimated to be more than one thousand people. Only one person survived,” the statement read.
The village was “completely leveled to the ground,” the group said, appealing to the U.N. and international aid groups for help to recover bodies.
AP
Footage shared by the Marrah Mountains news outlet showed a flattened area between mountain ranges with a group of people searching the area.
The landslide was one of the deadliest natural disasters in Sudan’s recent history. Hundreds of people die there every year in seasonal rains and flooding.
The tragedy came as a devastating civil war has engulfed Sudan after tensions between the country’s military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces exploded into open fighting in April 2023 in the capital of Khartoum and elsewhere in the country.
Most of the Darfur region, including the Marrah Mountains, has become mostly inaccessible for the U.N. and aid groups given crippling restrictions and fighting between Sudan’s military and the RSF.
The Sudan Liberation Movement-Army, centered in the Marrah Mountains area, is one of multiple rebel groups active in the Darfur and Kordofan regions. It hasn’t taken sides in the war.
Darfur’s army-aligned governor, Minni Minnawi, described the landslide as a “humanitarian tragedy that goes beyond the borders of the region,” according to French news agency AFP. “We appeal to international humanitarian organizations to urgently intervene and provide support and assistance at this critical moment, for the tragedy is greater than what our people can bear alone,” he said in a statement.
The Marrah Mountains are a rugged volcanic chain extending for 100 miles southwest of el-Fasher, an epicenter of fighting between the military and the RSF. The area has turned into a hub for displaced families fleeing fighting in and around el-Fasher.
The conflict has killed more than 40,000 people, forced more than 14 million to flee their homes and left some families eating grass in a desperate attempt to survive as famine sweeps parts of the country.
It has been marked by gross atrocities including ethnically motivated killing and rape, according to the United Nations and rights groups. The International Criminal Court said it was investigating alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The village of Tarasin is in the central Marrah Mountains, a volcanic area with a height of more than 9,800 feet at its summit. A world heritage site, the mountain chain is known for its lower temperature and higher rainfall than surrounding areas, according to UNICEF. It’s more than 560 miles west of Khartoum.
