(Image source from: AFP)
A "huge" landslide in the western Darfur area of Sudan has completely destroyed a mountain village and caused the deaths of over 1,000 individuals, as reported by a rebel group in control of the region on Monday evening. They mentioned that there is only one person who survived. The event happened on Sunday following several days of heavy rainfall, impacting the village of Tarasin located in the Marra mountains, according to a statement from the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM). "Early reports suggest that all villagers, in excess of a thousand, have died, with only one person alive," the group stated. The "huge and catastrophic" landslide "totally obliterated" a section of an area famous for its citrus farming, they added. The rebel group has requested assistance from the United Nations and other aid organizations to help recover the deceased who remain buried under soil and rubble. Sudan is caught in a violent civil war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), leading to one of the worst humanitarian situations in the world.
The SLM has mainly avoided direct involvement in the conflict but governs parts of Sudan's highest mountain range. The governor of the army-aligned Darfur, Minni Minnawi, described the landslide as a "humanitarian disaster that exceeds regional boundaries.""We urge international humanitarian organizations to rapidly step in and provide help and support during this urgent time, as this tragedy is more than our communities can handle alone," he declared in a statement. Much of Darfur, including the zone where the landslide occurred, remains mostly unreachable for international aid groups due to ongoing conflicts, which greatly hampers the delivery of necessary humanitarian aid.
Since April 2023, Sudan has been devastated by a conflict that started due to a power struggle between army leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy, RSF chief Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. In a series of military actions, Burhan's forces reclaimed central Sudan this year, leaving the RSF in control of nearly all of Darfur—having taken all but one state capital, El-Fasher—and sections of southern Kordofan. The fighting has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands and the displacement of millions, with around four million people displaced from the capital alone. Reports indicate that hundreds have died in the recent months, and residents of El-Fasher claim that the paramilitaries are currently launching their most intense attack ever on the capital of North Darfur. The conflict has severely damaged the infrastructure of this northeastern African nation and has led to what the United Nations calls the largest crisis of displacement and hunger in the world. Current estimates suggest that about ten million people are displaced within Sudan, while an additional four million have sought refuge in neighboring countries, per UN data.
