CAIRO (AP) — A landslide wiped out a village in Sudan ’s western region of Darfur, killing an estimated 1,000 people in one of the deadliest natural disasters in the African country’s recent history, a rebel group controlling the area said late 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 “completely 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 has become mostly inaccessible for the U.N. and aid groups, given crippling restrictions and fighting between Sudan's military and the RSF.
Aid group Doctors Without Borders has warned that multiple communities in Darfur, including the Marrah Mountains, have been cut off after more than two years of war and isolation, describing these areas as “a black hole" in Sudan’s humanitarian response.
It said in a July report that people in these communities have been “deprived from adequate assistance and snubbed by aid actors … despite enduring horrid conditions.”
The Sudan Liberation Movement-Army, centered in the Marrah Mountains area, is one of multiple rebel groups active in the Darfur and Kordofan regions. It hasn’t taken sides in the war.
The Marrah Mountains are a rugged volcanic chain extending for 160 kilometers (100 miles) southwest of el-Fasher, an epicenter of fighting between the military and the RSF. The area has turned into a hub for displaced families fleeing fighting in and around el-Fasher.
The conflict in Sudan has killed more than 40,000 people, forced more than 14 million to flee their homes and left some families eating grass in a desperate attempt to survive as famine swept parts of the country.
It has been marked by gross atrocities including ethnically motivated killing and rape, according to the United Nations and rights groups. The International Criminal Court said it was investigating alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The village of Tarasin is located in the central Marrah Mountains, a volcanic area with a height of more than 3,000 meters (9,840 feet) at its summit. A world heritage site, the mountain chain is known for its lower temperature and higher rainfall than surrounding areas, according to UNICEF. It’s located more than 900 kilometers (560 miles) west of the capital city, Khartoum.
Sunday’s landslide was one of the deadliest natural disasters in Sudan’s recent history. Hundreds of people die every year in seasonal rains that run from July to October. Last year's heavy rainfall caused the collapse of a dam in the eastern Red Sea Province, killing at least 30 people, according to the U.N.
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