A LANDSLIDE in Sudan’s mountainous Jebel Marra area of Darfur has wiped out an entire village, killing more than 1,000 people and leaving just one survivor.
In a statement on Tuesday, September 2, the leader of the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A), Abdelwahid Mohamed Nour, disclosed that the landslide hit Tarseen village on August 31 following a week of heavy rainfall.
“Tarseen, famed for its citrus production, has now been completely levelled to the ground.
“Initial information indicates the death of all village residents, estimated to be more than one thousand individuals, with only one survivor,” Mohamed said.
The SLM/A further called on the United Nations and international aid agencies to help recover the bodies of the victims, which include several children.
The Sovereign Council in Khartoum mourned in a statement stating that “all possible capabilities” have been mobilised to support the affected area.
The SLM/A has stayed neutral in Sudan’s civil war between the National Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) who are battling for control of al-Fashir, the nearby capital of North Darfur state now under RSF siege and devastated by famine.
The Reuters news agency reported that residents of al-Fashir and surrounding communities have fled to Jebel Marra in search of safety, but food, shelter, and medical supplies remain scarce, leaving hundreds of thousands exposed to the rains.
Meanwhile in Tawila, where most have gathered, a cholera outbreak is spreading.
The ICIR reports that the disaster comes amid Sudan’s war now in its third year, which has pushed the country deeper into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with famine already declared in parts of Darfur.
More than half of Sudan’s population is experiencing crisis-level hunger, while millions have been displaced from their homes, leaving them highly vulnerable to the country’s devastating annual floods.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.