By: Chioma Madonna Ndukwu
A landslide triggered by heavy rains has killed more than 1,000 people in western Sudan, according to the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM), which controls the affected area.
The disaster struck on August 31 in the Marra Mountains of Darfur, destroying an entire village and leaving only one survivor, the group said in a statement.
“Initial information indicates the death of all village residents, estimated at over one thousand, with just one survivor,” the SLM announced. It called on the United Nations and international aid agencies to help recover bodies of men, women, and children buried in the rubble.
The SLM, led by Abdelwahid Nour, said the village “has now been completely levelled to the ground.”
Darfur’s army-aligned governor, Minni Minnawi, described the incident as a “humanitarian tragedy that goes beyond the borders of the region” and urged international organisations to provide urgent assistance.
The area is largely inaccessible to aid groups due to ongoing conflict between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, now in its third year. The civil war has displaced millions and left parts of Darfur facing famine.
The SLM has not taken part in the fighting but controls parts of the Marra Mountains, Sudan’s highest range, where many displaced civilians had sought refuge with limited food and medicine.
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