Indiana, PA (BN24) – A devastating landslide in Sudan’s Darfur region has killed more than 1,000 people after wiping out the village of Tarasin, making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in the country’s recent history, according to the Sudan Liberation Movement-Army.
The landslide struck Sunday in the Marrah Mountains of Central Darfur following days of relentless rainfall. Rebel leaders said the entire village was “completely leveled to the ground,” leaving only one known survivor. The group appealed to the United Nations and humanitarian organizations to urgently assist in recovering bodies and providing aid.
“The scale and magnitude of the disaster are immense and defy description,” rebel leader Abdel-Wahid Nour said Tuesday.
The Sovereign Council in Khartoum expressed condolences for the victims and said it had mobilized “all possible capabilities” to support the devastated area. However, access remains a challenge. Local residents described the tragedy as “unprecedented,” noting that Tarasin and its people had “disappeared” under the landslide.
Footage shared by regional news outlets showed flattened land between mountain ranges with survivors searching through debris. According to Mohamed Abdel-Rahman al-Nair, a spokesman for the Sudan Liberation Movement-Army, the village is so remote it can only be reached on foot or by donkeys.
The Marrah Mountains, a volcanic range rising more than 3,000 meters (9,840 feet), are known for their cooler temperatures and heavier rainfall compared with the rest of Darfur. The area, designated a UNESCO World Heritage site, lies 900 kilometers (560 miles) west of Khartoum.
This disaster adds to the suffering of Sudan, which remains engulfed in a civil war between the military and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict, which began in April 2023, and over 14 million displaced. International monitors have accused both sides of committing atrocities, including war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The ongoing conflict has cut off humanitarian access to many areas of Darfur, including the Marrah Mountains. Doctors Without Borders has described these regions as a “black hole” in Sudan’s humanitarian response, where communities have been “deprived of adequate assistance” for over two years.
Seasonal rains, which last from July to October, cause hundreds of deaths in Sudan each year. Last year, heavy rainfall led to the collapse of a dam in Red Sea Province, killing at least 30 people.
For families already displaced by war and famine, Sunday’s landslide adds a new layer of tragedy to Sudan’s worsening humanitarian crisis, which has left more than 30 million people in urgent need of aid.
