A landslide in Sudan’s Marra Mountains has buried an entire village, killing more than 1,000 people, according to the rebel group that controls the area.
The Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM) said the disaster struck the village of Tarasin on Sunday after several days of relentless rain. In a statement, the group reported that only one person had survived.
“Initial information indicates the death of all village residents, estimated to be more than one thousand individuals, with only one survivor,” the SLM said. “The village has now been completely levelled to the ground.”
Photographs released by the movement showed villagers picking through heaps of mud and debris, with sections of the mountainside collapsed. Uprooted trees and broken timber were strewn across the site.
Call for aid
The SLM, which has fought the Sudanese state for two decades, appealed to the United Nations and international relief agencies for help in recovering the bodies.
The Sovereign Council, Sudan’s ruling authority in Khartoum, expressed condolences on Tuesday and said it had “mobilised all possible capabilities” to support the region.
The disaster occurred during Sudan’s rainy season, when downpours often cut off mountain communities and flood urban centres. In Khartoum last week, streets were waist-deep in water.
Humanitarian crisis deepens
The landslide comes as Sudan’s wider humanitarian emergency worsens. The country is in the third year of a brutal conflict between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Millions have been displaced, and famine has been declared in parts of Darfur.
Many families fleeing the fighting have taken refuge in the Marra Mountains, where food and medicine are scarce. Aid groups warn the situation is deteriorating rapidly.
The United Nations has not yet confirmed the casualty figures from Tarasin. With access to the area restricted by conflict and damaged roads, independent verification remains difficult.
For survivors in Darfur, already trapped between war and hunger, the landslide is a fresh catastrophe in a region long marked by loss.
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