Khartoum, Sudan (Prime Africa News) — A devastating landslide has killed at least 370 people in the remote Marra Mountains of western Sudan, according to the United Nations. The disaster struck the village of Tarseen following days of heavy rain, leaving the community almost completely destroyed.
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Antoine Gérard, the UN’s Deputy Humanitarian Co-ordinator for Sudan, told the BBC that assessing the full scale of the tragedy was difficult because of the region’s inaccessibility. “We do not have helicopters, everything goes in vehicles on very bumpy roads. It takes time and it is the rainy season — sometimes we have to wait hours, maybe a day or two to cross a valley… bringing in trucks with commodities will be a challenge,” he said.
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While the UN confirmed hundreds of deaths, the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) — which controls the area — warned the toll could be far higher, possibly exceeding 1,000 people. The group reported that only one person had survived the landslide, which it said “levelled” much of Tarseen.
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The SLM/A has appealed for urgent international aid, calling on the UN, the African Union, and humanitarian organisations to intervene.
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The landslide comes as Sudan reels from a civil war that erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The conflict has displaced nearly 12 million people, pushed the country into famine, and caused mass atrocities in Darfur, which some international observers have described as genocide.
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Many North Darfur residents had sought refuge in the Marra Mountains after fleeing fighting elsewhere. Although the SLM/A has largely remained neutral in the war, some factions have pledged to back the Sudanese army against the RSF.
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Darfur’s governor, Minni Minnawi, described the landslide as a “humanitarian tragedy,” urging the world to act swiftly. “We appeal to international humanitarian organisations to urgently intervene and provide support and assistance at this critical moment, for the tragedy is greater than what our people can bear alone,” he said.
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The African Union Commission Chair, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, called on Sudan’s warring parties to silence their guns and allow unimpeded humanitarian relief. “The people of Sudan are suffering from both war and disaster. Now is the time to unite in delivering emergency aid,” he said.
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Pictures from the scene show two massive gullies on the side of the mountain converging where Tarseen once stood, highlighting the force of the landslide.
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With infrastructure shattered, famine spreading, and now natural disaster compounding human suffering, Sudan faces one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises.
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