More than 1,000 feared dead after huge landslide in Sudan, armed group says
At least 1,000 people have died in a landslide in western Sudan, the rebel group The Sudan Liberation Movement/Army has said.
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Heavy rain lasting days triggered the natural disaster in the remote Marra Mountains on Sunday, reportedly leaving just one survivor.
The group said much of the village of Tarasin was “completely levelled to the ground”due to the downpour.
“Initial information indicates the death of all village residents, estimated to be more than one thousand individuals, with only one survivor,” the armed group said in a statement.
The movement has appealed for humanitarian assistance from international bodies such as the United Nations and other groups to help recover victims’ bodies.
It controls the area located in Darfur region in Sudan, which is locked in its third year of a bloody civil war that left the nation in a humanitarian crisis, sparking famine in parts of the country.
Residents had been seeking shelter in the Marrah Mountains area to avoid clashes between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
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Factions of Sudan Liberation Movement/Army, which controls the area have vowed to fight alongside the Sudanese military against the RSF.
The groups have been battling for territorial control of the country since war broke out in the capital, Khartoum, in April 2023.
In January, the US found that that the RSF and its militias were committing genocide.
It estimated last year that up to 150,000 people had been killed since the fighting began.
The conflict has forced over 11 million people out of their homes, left tens of thousands dead, and 30 million requiring humanitarian assistance.