Sudan Landslide Kills Estimated 1,000 in Darfur

A massive landslide in sudan’s western Darfur region killed an estimated 1,000 people and destroyed a village,marking one of the country’s deadliest recent natural disasters,a local rebel group said Monday.

The tragedy happened Sunday in the village of Tarasin in Central Darfur’s Marrah Mountains after days of heavy rainfall, 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 “wholly leveled to the ground,” the group said, appealing to the U.N. and international aid groups for help to recover the bodies.

The ruling Sovereign Council in Khartoum mourned “the death of hundreds of innocent residents” in the Marrah Mountains’ landslide. In a statement, it said “all possible capabilities” have been mobilized to support the area.

Footage shared by the Marrah Mountains news outlet showed a flattened area between mountain ranges with a group of people searching the area.

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, Khartoum, and elsewhere in the country.

Most of the conflict-stricken darfur region