A devastating landslide wiped out a village in Sudan’s western region of Darfur, killing at least 1,000 people in one of the deadliest natural disasters in the African country’s recent history, a rebel group controlling the area has said.
The tragedy happened on Sunday in the Tarasin village in Central Darfur’s Marrah Mountains after days of heavy rainfall in late August, the Sudan Liberation Movement-Army said in a statement.
“Initial information indicates the death of all village residents, estimated to be more than one thousand people. Only one person survived,” the statement read.
The village was “completely levelled to the ground,” the group said, appealing to the UN and international aid groups for help to recover the bodies.
Fleeing the raging war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in North Darfur state, residents sought shelter in the Marra Mountains area, where food and medication are insufficient.
The two-year civil war has left more than half the population facing crisis levels of hunger and driven millions from their homes, with the capital of North Darfur state, Al Fashir, being under fire.
