At least 1,000 people have been killed in a devastating landslide that wiped out an entire village in Sudan’s Marra Mountains region, leaving just one survivor, the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army said on Monday.
The landslide struck on August 31 after days of heavy rainfall, the group led by Abdelwahid Mohamed Nour said in a statement.
Appeal For Aid
The movement, which controls the area located in Darfur region, appealed to the United Nations and international aid agencies to help recover the bodies of victims, including men, women and children.
The village “has now been completely levelled to the ground,” the movement added.
Fleeing War
Fleeing the raging war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in North Darfur state, residents sought shelter in the Marra Mountains area where food and medication are insufficient.
The two-year civil war has left more than half the population facing crisis levels of hunger and driven millions from their homes with the capital of North Darfur state, Al-Fashir, being under fire.
The vast Kordofan region that lies between the two forces’ strongholds remains the site of fighting and attacks on small villages.
Cost Of War
UNICEF said in August that more than 1,000 children had been killed or maimed by air, artillery, and ground attacks. The RSF says it has given civilians ample opportunity to leave.
Yale Humanitarian Lab said that satellite imagery showed the force had constructed physical barriers, preventing people from leaving. Those who have managed to escape report violent attacks and robberies by RSF soldiers.
The Sudanese army has retaken control of central and eastern regions of Sudan, and has been setting up its first government since the start of the war, which held its first cabinet meeting earlier this week.
Hemedti Sworn In
Meanwhile, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, leader of the RSF, was sworn in as the head of a rival Sudanese government, the government announced in a statement on August 31, bringing the country a step closer to de facto partition.
Dagalo, known as Hemedti, has rarely been seen in Sudan since the start of a 28-month-long war with the country’s national army, but was sworn in in the Sudanese city of Nyala, the statement said. Reuters could not independently confirm his location.
(With inputs from Reuters)
