Cairo (AP) – Sudan It called for international aid on Tuesday after landslides wiped out entire villages in Darfur’s western region and killed an estimated 1,000 people in one of the deadliest natural disasters in the recent history of the African nation.
The village of Thalasin was “fully leveled to the ground,” the Sudan Liberation Movement-Armie said it appealed to the UN and international aid groups to help recover the bodies.
The tragedy took place on Sunday in a village in the Mara Mountains in the heart of Darfur.
“The initial information shows the deaths of all village residents, estimated to be over 1,000,” the rebel group said in a statement. “Only one person survived,” he added.
Group leader Abdel-Wahid Nour sued international support on Tuesday. “The scale and magnitude of the disaster is an immeasurable explanation,” he said.
Khartoum’s ruling sovereign council said it had lamented the “deaths of hundreds of innocent residents” in the landslide in Marrah Mountains. In a statement, he said “all possible capabilities” were mobilised to support the region.
Footage shared by the Mara Mountains news outlet showed flattened areas between the mountain ranges with groups of people searching for the area.
Lukarenda, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, said he was “deeply saddened” by the reported landslide, with local sources saying “between 300 and 1,000 people may have lost their lives.” He said the United Nations and its partners are mobilizing to support communities affected on the ground.
The local emergency network, which has provided support to communities across Sudan during the war, said the team recovered nine bodies on Tuesday. The search team added that due to bad weather and lack of resources, they faced challenges to reach the area.
“Unprecedented Tragedy”
Ammunition farmer Al Amin Abdallah Abbas, a village flock that includes Thalasin, said that the area had been hit by the worst hit after weeks of heavy rain. He said tribes and community leaders in nearby areas are highlighting efforts to recover and fill victims.
“The village and its people disappeared,” he said. “It’s an unprecedented tragedy.”
Mohamed Abdel Rahman al-Nea, a spokesman for the Sudan Liberation Movement, told The Associated Press that the village where the landslide occurred was far away and accessible only by foot or by donkey.
Thalasin is located in the Central Maratha Mountains, a volcanic region that is over 3,000 meters (9,840 feet) tall at the summit. According to UNICEF, the mountain chain, a global heritage site, is known for its lower temperatures and higher rainfall than surrounding areas. It is located over 900 km (560 miles) west of the capital Khartoum.
Sunday’s landslide was one of the most deadly natural disasters in Sudan’s recent history. Hundreds of people die each year due to seasonal rains that take place between July and October. It caused last year’s heavy rain The collapse of dams in East Red Seakilling at least 30 people, according to the United Nations.
That’s how the tragedy came A catastrophic civil war is engulfing Sudan Tensions between the country’s military and paramilitary swift support forces, or the RSF, exploded into combat in April 2023 in the capital, Khartoum and elsewhere in the country.
“I’ve been deprived of proper assistance.”
Most of the conflict-stricken Darfur region is barely accessible to the UN and aid groups, given the obstacles and fight between Sudanese troops and the RSF.
Doctors from a borderless aid group warn that multiple communities in Darfur, including the Mara Mountains, have been cut off after more than two years of war and isolation, describing these areas as “black holes” in Sudan’s humanitarian response.
In a July report, people from these communities said “have been deprived of proper support and ignored by aid actors for over two years.”
On Tuesday, the International Migration Agency called in a statement to help secure access and expand the area, saying, “The people of Sudan cannot endure this endless suffering alone.”
Sudan’s liberation movement centered around the Maratha Mountains region – Darfur and the Kordofan Region. It’s not on the side of war.
The Maratha Mountains are a sturdy volcanic chain that runs 160 kilometers (100 miles) southwest of Elfasher, the epicenter of the military and RSF. The area has become a hub for displaced people Escape from battles in and around the besieged city.
On Monday, the RSF fired Elfasher, the last military base in Darfur, killing at least 18 people and injuring more than 100 people, the Sudan Doctor Network is a group of experts tracking the war.
RSF did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Suspicion of war crimes
There is in the conflict in Sudan Over 40,000 people have been killedHe let over 14 million people escape from their homes and left. Some families eat grass In a desperate attempt to survive, as hunger wiped out parts of the country.
It is characterized by awful atrocities, including ethnically motivated murder and rape, according to the United Nations and rights groups. The International Criminal Court said it is investigating War crimes and alleged crimes against humanity.
The conflict has created the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, with a population of 50 million people in countries of over 30 million needing assistance. Of these, over 630,000 people live there. Fungied areas in Darfur and KordofanAccording to international hunger experts.
