Sudan’s landslide kills at least 1,000 people, says rebel

A landslide killed at least 1,000 people in the distant mountains of Marra in western Sudan, according to the armed group the Sudan liberation movement.

Days of heavy rains sparked the landslide on Sunday, which left only one survivor and “leveled” a large part of the village of Tarasin, the group said in a statement.

The movement called for humanitarian aid from the United Nations and other regional and international organizations.

Many residents of the state of Darfur du Nord had sought refuge in the Marra mountains region, after the war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary forces for rapid support (RSF) forced them from their home.

The governor aligned by the Darfur army, Minni Minnawi, described the “humanitarian tragedy” landslide.

“We call on international humanitarian organizations to intervene urgently and provide support and assistance at this critical moment, because the tragedy is greater than what our people can bear alone,” he said in a statement quoted by the AFP news agency.

The images show two ravines on the side of a mountain which converges at a lower level where the village of Tarasin was located.

The civil war which broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and the RSF plunged the country into famine and led to accusations of genocide in the western region of Darfur.

Estimates in the number of deaths of civil war vary considerably, but an American official estimated that up to 150,000 people had been killed since hostilities began in 2023. About 12 million fled their homes.

The factions of the Sudan / Army liberation movement, which controls the area where the landslide has occurred, has committed to fight alongside the Sudanese army against the RSF.

Many Darfouris believe that the RSF and Allies militias have waged a war aimed at transforming the ethnically mixed region into an area with Arab rolls.

Additional report by Anne Soy.