The Media Line: Landslide in Sudan’s Marra Mountains Leaves Hundreds Dead

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Landslide in Sudan’s Marra Mountains Leaves Hundreds Dead  

By The Media Line Staff  

At least 370 people were killed in a landslide that struck the remote Marra Mountains in western Sudan, a UN official said, as rescue and relief efforts remain hampered by the area’s inaccessibility.  

Antoine Gérard, the UN’s deputy humanitarian coordinator for Sudan, told the BBC that the true scale of the disaster was still unclear. “It is hard to assess the incident or the exact death toll as the area is very hard to reach,” he explained.  

The Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A), which controls the affected region, claimed the toll could be far higher, possibly as many as 1,000 lives. The group said days of heavy rainfall triggered the landslide on Sunday, wiping out most of the village of Tarseen and leaving only one survivor. It appealed for urgent international assistance to reach the survivors.  

Gérard warned that delivering supplies would be difficult. “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,” he said, noting that transporting relief by truck would be a challenge.  

Many of those killed or displaced had already fled earlier fighting in North Darfur, seeking refuge in the mountains as conflict between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces escalated. The SLM/A has declared neutrality in that conflict, though some factions have pledged support to the army.  

Darfur’s governor Minni Minnawi described the landslide as a “humanitarian tragedy” and called on international organizations to provide immediate aid. The African Union Commission’s head, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, urged Sudan’s warring sides to “silence the guns” and allow emergency relief to reach the victims.