Hundreds of bodies pulled from Darfur landslides as many remain trapped | News

The bodies of 370 people have been recovered and buried after a landslide struck the remote Sudanese village of Tarasin after heavy rain.

Authorities have recovered the bodies of hundreds of people killed in a landslide at a remote mountainous village over the weekend in the western Sudanese region of Darfur, which is controlled by rebels.

Ibrahim Suleiman, a senior official in the civilian administration of Daramo locality, where the village of Tarasin is located, reported in a video released by the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) on Thursday that 370 bodies had been recovered and buried.

Many others remain trapped under debris or were swept away by floodwaters, he added.

The August 31 landslide that followed days of heavy rainfall in Tarasin, in the Marrah Mountains, could have possibly killed as many as 1,000 people, Mohamed Abdel-Rahman al-Nair, a spokesperson for the SLM/A, which controls the region, previously told the AP news agency.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) had a similar death toll estimate, but said it was difficult to confirm the magnitude of the tragedy because the area is hard to reach.

The UN has said that efforts have been mobilised to support the affected area, located more than 900 kilometres (560 miles) west of the capital, Khartoum.

Al-Nair said in a statement on Thursday that the landslide caused a “catastrophic humanitarian situation” that required a rapid response from the international community to provide food and shelter for those who have lost everything.

The Marrah Mountains region is a volcanic area with a height of more than 3,000 metres (9,840 feet) at its summit. The mountain chain is a World Heritage Site and is known for its lower temperatures and higher rainfall than its surroundings, according to UNICEF.

A small-scale landslide hit the area in 2018, killing at least 19 people and injuring dozens of others, according to the now-disbanded United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur.

The tragedy comes amid the ongoing civil war that erupted in April 2023 in the capital city, Khartoum. The conflict spread across the country after simmering tensions escalated between the Sudanese army and its rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

The conflict has killed tens of thousands and displaced some 12 million people. Famine has spread in parts of Darfur and southern Sudan, while cholera has affected large areas of the country, with Darfur hit hardest.