At least 1,000 people have died when a landslide engulfed an entire village in the Marra mountains in Sudan’s western Darfur region, according to the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A).
The landslide struck the community on 31 August following days of heavy rainfall, according to the organisation led by Abdelwahid Mohamed Nur.
The movement, which controls parts of the vast Darfur region, has called on the UN and international aid organisations to help recover the bodies of victims – men, women and children.
Entire community flattened after days of heavy rainfall
The village was “completely flattened”, the same source emphasised.
The SLM/A statement described the devastating impact of the natural disaster on a community already struggling with the effects of ongoing conflict in Sudan.
War refugees among victims seeking safety in mountain region
Many of the victims had fled to save themselves from the war between the regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has continued raging since April 2023, and took refuge in the Marra mountains, despite food and medicine shortages in the area.
The war in Sudan, now in its third year, has cost the lives of tens if not hundreds of thousands of people, has uprooted millions of others and has caused what the UN characterises as “the world’s worst humanitarian crisis,” with more than half the population facing food insecurity.
The most active front currently is that of the besieged capital of North Darfur state, El Fasher, which the RSF are attempting to capture whilst escalating their attacks.
(information from protothema.gr)
