A devastating landslide in Sudan’s troubled Darfur region has killed over 1,000 people, with relief organizations cautioning that a large majority of the dead were children. The landslide occurred on August 31, sweeping villages under mud and rubble in the midst of raging civil war that has already left the nation shaken.
Children Among the Dead, Survivors Struggle
Save the Children said about 200 children were among the dead. At least 150 survivors, 40 of them children, have been pulled out and given medical treatment. Aid workers are still searching for survivors trapped under the debris. Francesco Lanino, Save the Children’s operations director in Sudan, said the incident was “a tragedy within the bigger tragedy that Sudan is already suffering,” as it is one of the worst to hit the country.
The landslide struck Tarasin village in the Marrah Mountains following days of torrential rain. Officials retrieved 375 bodies on Thursday alone, with estimates from local militia and the United Nations of a potential death toll of more than 1,000. The region is inaccessible, which has made confirmation complicated and hindered relief efforts.
Destruction and Dangerous Conditions
Lanino remembered that nearly half of the mountain above Tarasin tumbled down, burying the village completely. The landslide hit at least in two waves the first on Sunday afternoon and then a second that hit surrounding villages, inflicting damage on those trying to evacuate the first victims. Several buildings, including schools and healthcare centers, were destroyed.
Aid groups experienced harsh difficulties reaching the area, taking donkeys to navigate since the roads were destroyed and the land was impassable. The village is still out of cellular network range, and survivors are left cut off. With continued heavy rains, concerns for more landslides linger, with residents moving into surrounding villages about five kilometers away, although they have no basic needs met, such as food, clean water, and shelter.
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Aid Efforts and Relief Operations
Humanitarian agencies, such as Save the Children, are distributing emergency aid, medical treatment, and protection assistance to survivors and relocating them to safer places. Lanino underscored the need for prompt action, as thousands of people are still missing and the extent of those buried under mud is unknown.
The landslide occurred during Sudan’s current civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which started in April 2023. The war has already taken the lives of more than 40,000 individuals and displaced about 12 million people, adding to pre-existing humanitarian crises.
The tragedy underlines the cumulative dangers experienced by people in Darfur, where natural hazards overlap with conflict, exposing inhabitants to danger and in great need of assistance.
