Just one person in the village is said to have survived the tragedy in the Darfur region of Sudan as families of men, women and children were killed by the landslide
At least 1,000 people are feared dead following a catastrophic landslide which has wiped out an entire village.
The disaster struck on Sunday in the settlement in Tarasin following torrential downpours in late August. Days of heavy rain loosened the soil, causing the slopes of the Marrah Mountains to collapse.
Sudan Liberation Movement leader Abdelwahid Mohamed Nour said: “Initial information indicates the death of all village residents, estimated to be more than one thousand people. Only one person survived.”
The village was “completely levelled to the ground,” the group declared, following one of Sudan’s deadliest natural disasters in recent memory They made urgent appeals to the UN and international humanitarian organisations for assistance in retrieving the bodies.
Video footage released by the Marrah Mountains news outlet revealed a flattened expanse between mountain ridges, with rescue teams scouring the devastated area. Darfur’s governor described the situation a “humanitarian tragedy”.
The events unfolds against the backdrop of a brutal civil war that has dominated Sudan since hostilities between the nation’s military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces erupted into full-scale combat in April 2023, beginning in the capital Khartoum before spreading nationwide.
The Sudan Liberation Movement-Army, based in the Marrah Mountains region, is one of several rebel factions operating in the Darfur and Kordofan areas. It has remained neutral in the conflict.
The Marrah Mountains, a rugged volcanic range stretching 160 kilometres (100 miles) southwest of el-Fasher, have become a hotspot for displaced families escaping the clashes in and around el-Fasher. This area is a key battleground between the military and the RSF.
The conflict has claimed over 40,000 lives, driven more than 14 million people from their homes and led to some families resorting to eating grass as famine ravages parts of the nation, report the DailyStar.
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