EL FASHER, SUDAN — Rescuers in the war-torn Darfur region of Sudan have recovered and buried the bodies of 370 people following a massive landslide that struck the remote village of Tarasin. The disaster, which occurred on August 31 after days of heavy rainfall, has left many more villagers trapped under the debris, according to local officials.
According to media reports, The landslide, triggered by incessant rains in the Marrah Mountains, completely leveled the village. A senior official in the civilian administration of the Daramo locality, Ibrahim Suleiman, confirmed in a video released on Thursday that 370 bodies had been recovered and buried, with many others still trapped or swept away by floodwaters.
The Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A), a rebel group that controls the region, has stated that the death toll could be as high as 1,000, with only one survivor found from the village’s estimated population of over 1,000. The remote and rugged terrain, coupled with the ongoing civil war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has severely hampered rescue and aid efforts.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has expressed deep sadness over the tragedy and noted that the true scale of the disaster is difficult to confirm due to the inaccessibility of the area. The UN and other aid organizations are mobilizing to provide support to the affected communities.
The landslide comes as Sudan grapples with one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises. The civil war, which began in April 2023, has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions. The Marrah Mountains had become a refuge for many families fleeing the conflict, compounding the tragedy of the natural disaster. ATP
