Darfur landslide in Sudan kills 100, hundreds feared dead

Search and rescue teams are racing against time in Sudan’s western Darfur region after a catastrophic landslide buried the remote village of Tarasin in the Marrah Mountains. Around 100 bodies have been recovered so far, but the Sudan Liberation Movement-Army (SLM-A) fears the death toll could reach as high as 1,000.

The disaster struck on August 31 following days of heavy rain. The United Nations says the full scale of the tragedy remains unknown, as the area is extremely difficult to reach.

“What we are trying to do right now is reach that area,” said Arjimand Hussain, Plan International’s Regional Response Manager. “Unfortunately, no international humanitarian or UN agency has been able to get there yet due to floods, submerged roads, and flash flooding in the valleys.”

The landslide has compounded an already dire humanitarian crisis in Sudan, where civil war, displacement, and food shortages have devastated communities for the past two years.

The Marrah Mountains, a UNESCO World Heritage site, are known for their unique climate, cooler and wetter than the surrounding region,c onditions that contributed to the landslide and continue to hamper rescue efforts.