The tragedy comes as Sudan continues to reel from a civil war that erupted in April 2023. The UN and aid organisations have largely been cut off from regions like Darfur due to security restrictions and ongoing hostilities. Read on:
1 / 6A catastrophic landslide washed away an entire remote village in Sudan’s western Darfur region, killing more than 1,000 people in what could be one of the country’s deadliest natural disasters in recent decades, according to a rebel group in control of the area. (Photo: X/@Sudan_tweet)
2 / 6Entire village wiped out: The incident occurred on Sunday (August 31) in Tarasin, a settlement in the Marrah Mountains of Central Darfur, following several days of heavy rainfall in late August, the Sudan Liberation Movement-Army (SLM-A) said in a statement, reported Associated Press (AP). (Photo: X/@Sudan_tweet)
3 / 6“Initial information indicates the death of all village residents, estimated to be more than one thousand people. Only one person survived,” the group declared. It added that Tarasin had been “completely levelled to the ground,” while urging the United Nations and aid agencies to assist in recovering bodies. (Photo: X/@Sudan_tweet)
4 / 6Disaster amid civil war: The tragedy comes as Sudan continues to reel from a civil war that erupted in April 2023, when tensions between the national military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) escalated into open conflict in Khartoum and across the country. The UN and aid organisations have largely been cut off from regions like Darfur due to security restrictions and ongoing hostilities, AP reported. (Photo: X/@hash_sudan)
5 / 6The SLM-A, based in the Marrah Mountains, is one of several armed groups active in Darfur and Kordofan. Unlike others, it has not aligned with either the army or the RSF in the current conflict. (Photo: X/@hash_sudan)
6 / 6Humanitarian crisis worsens: The broader conflict has already claimed more than 40,000 lives, displaced at least 14 million people, and pushed some families to the brink of famine, with reports of people surviving on grass, the UN and rights groups have warned. The International Criminal Court has also launched investigations into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. (Photo: X/@hash_sudan)
