Sudan landslide kills 1,000 at least, rebel group claims

A massive landslide has killed at least 1,000 people in Sudan’s remote Marra Mountains, according to the rebel group Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A).

Triggered by days of heavy rainfall on Sunday, the landslide devastated the village of Tarasin, leaving only one survivor, the group said in a statement.

The SLM/A appealed for urgent humanitarian aid from the United Nations and other international organisations.

Thousands of displaced people from North Darfur had sought shelter in the Marra Mountains after fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) drove them from their homes.

The civil war, which erupted in April 2023, has fueled famine and led to accusations of genocide in Darfur. A US official estimated last year that as many as 150,000 people had been killed, while around 12 million have been displaced.

The SLM/A, which controls the area hit by the landslide, has pledged to fight alongside the Sudanese military against the RSF. Many Darfuris accuse the RSF and allied militias of attempting to reshape the ethnically diverse region into an Arab-ruled territory.