Landslide in west Sudan kills over 1,000 people
A rebel group has said a “devastating” landslide has hit Sudan and killed over a thousand people, reports France24 via AFP on September 2nd.
After days of heavy rain in Sudan’s western Darfur region, the earth of the Marra mountains gave way, creating a landslide which engulfed the entire village of Tarasin, killing over a thousand of its residents and leaving only one survivor.
This information has emerged from a statement given by the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM), who currently control the western Darfur region.
According to the statement, “Initial information indicates the death of all village residents, estimated to be more than one thousand individuals, with only one survivor.”
The group describes a “massive and devastating” landslide that has “completely destroyed” parts of a region renowned for its citrus production.
The SLM has appealed to the United Nations and other humanitarian aid organisations to request help with recovering the bodies of the dead that have been buried underneath the soil.
The army-aligned governor of Darfur, Minni Minnawi, has also released a statement where he appealed “to international humanitarian organisations to urgently intervene and provide support and assistance at this critical moment, for the tragedy is greater than what our people can bear alone.”
However, due to fighting between the Sudanese Military and the paramilitary group Rapid Supply Forces (RSF), much of Darfur is inaccessible to aid organisations.
The Sudanese conflict has been extraordinarily dangerous for aid workers, with the UN stating in August that over 120 aid workers have been killed in the civil war.
The fighting has created a famine that has been ravaging across the war-torn Darfur region. In July, UNICEF reported the rate of child malnutrition in Darfur had doubled since 2024 – a number we can assume has increased in the months that have passed.
The UN has said the conflict has displaced 10 million people within Sudan, and a further 4 million Sudanese people have sought refuge in neighboring nations.
France24 via AFP, Maghrebi.org
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