Sudan appeals for aid after landslide kills more than 1,000 in Darfur

Sudan appealed for international aid on Tuesday after a landslide wiped out an entire village in western region of Darfur, killing an estimated 1,000 people in one of the deadliest natural disasters in the African country’s recent history.

The village of Tarasin was “completely leveled to the ground,” the Sudan Liberation Movement-Army said as it appealed to the U.N. and international aid groups for help to recover the bodies.

The tragedy happened Sunday in the village, located in Central Darfur’s Marrah Mountains, after days of heavy rainfall.

“Initial information indicates the death of all village residents, estimated to be more than 1,000 people," the rebel group said in a statement. ”Only one person survived,” it added.

Abdel-Wahid Nour, the group’s leader, made an appeal on Tuesday for international help. “The scale and magnitude of the disaster are immense and defy description,” he said.

The ruling Sovereign Council in Khartoum said it mourned “the death of hundreds of innocent residents” in the Marrah Mountains' landslide. In a statement, it said “all possible capabilities” have been mobilized to support the area.

Footage shared by the Marrah Mountains news outlet showed a flattened area between mountain ranges with a group of people searching the area.

Luca Renda, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Sudan, said he was “deeply saddened” by the reported landslide, adding that local sources indicated that “between 300 and 1,000 people may have lost their lives.” He said the U.N. and its partners were mobilizing to support the impacted communities at the scene.

A local emergency network, which has been providing support to communities across Sudan during the war, said its teams recovered the bodies of at nine people on Tuesday. Search teams were facing challenges to reach the area because of bad weather and lack of resources, it added.