A landslide triggered by heavy rains in Sudan’s western Darfur region has destroyed an entire village, killing around 1,000 people, a rebel group said on Monday.
The Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) said the disaster struck on Aug. 31 in the Tarasin area of the Marra Mountains after days of torrential rainfall. Only one villager was pulled out alive from the rubble, the group added.
The SLM appealed to the United Nations and international humanitarian agencies to help recover bodies buried under the debris.
Sudan has been gripped by civil war since April 2023, when the army, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), commanded by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, turned their power struggle into open conflict. Both sides have been accused of atrocities, including killings, rape and looting.
The war has killed more than 20,000 people nationwide, according to estimates, with Darfur among the hardest-hit regions. Thousands of civilians displaced by the fighting had sought refuge in the Marra Mountains, where they were caught by the landslide.
Darfur’s army-backed governor, Minni Minnawi, described the disaster as a “humanitarian catastrophe.” But rescue efforts have been hampered by the ongoing fighting, leaving survivors with little assistance.
