Sudan landslide kills at least 1,000 people, rebel group says

(Reuters): More than 1,000 people were killed in a landslide in western Sudan on Sunday, according to a rebel group that controls the area.

The landslide destroyed a village in the Marra Mountains area of western Sudan and left only one survivor, said the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM).

The landslide took place on 31 August after heavy rains, said the group, led by Abdelwahid Nour.

“Initial information indicates the death of all village residents, estimated to be more than one thousand individuals, with only one survivor,” its statement said.

The movement, which controls the area located in Darfur region, appealed to the UN and international aid agencies to help recover the bodies of victims, including men, women and children.

The village “has now been completely levelled to the ground”, the statement said.

Sudan’s bloody civil war – now in its third year – has plunged Sudan into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with famine declared in parts of Darfur.

Fighting has escalated in Darfur, especially in El-Fasher, since the army took control of the capital, Khartoum, in March.

Fleeing the raging war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, residents reportedly sought shelter in the Marra Mountains area, where food and medication are insufficient.

The SLM has mostly stayed out of the fighting, but controls parts of Sudan’s tallest mountain range.

Darfur’s army-aligned governor, Minni Minnawi, called the landslide a “humanitarian tragedy that goes beyond the borders of the region”.

“We appeal to international humanitarian organisations to urgently intervene and provide support and assistance at this critical moment, for the tragedy is greater than what our people can bear alone,” he said in a statement.

Much of Darfur – including the area where the landslide occurred – remains largely inaccessible to international aid organisations due to ongoing fighting, severely limiting the delivery of urgent humanitarian assistance.

The fighting has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions, including about four million from the capital alone.

Hundreds have been reported killed in recent months, and civilians in El-Fasher say the paramilitaries are currently waging their fiercest ever assault on the North Darfur state capital.