A catastrophic landslide has obliterated the village of Tarasin in Sudan’s Darfur region, killing an estimated 1,000 people in what is being described as one of the country’s deadliest natural disasters in decades. The landslide struck on Sunday after days of torrential rain in the remote Marrah Mountains of Central Darfur. According to the Sudan Liberation Movement-Army (SLM-A), only one villager is believed to have survived. Videos shared from the scene show a once-thriving settlement reduced to rubble, with survivors desperately searching for loved ones buried beneath mud and rock. The disaster has drawn urgent appeals for international assistance. Local rescue efforts remain severely limited as Sudan’s brutal civil war continues to paralyze access to aid across much of Darfur. Humanitarian organizations such as Doctors Without Borders have already warned of a “total collapse” in relief operations, with communities cut off from food, medicine, and shelter.
The Marrah Mountains, long considered a haven for families escaping conflict, have now become the site of immense loss. The tragedy comes on top of staggering human suffering from the ongoing war: more than 40,000 people have been killed since fighting erupted between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in April 2023. Over 15 million have been displaced, and some families are reportedly eating grass and leaves to survive. The United Nations has labeled Sudan’s conflict one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. The Darfur landslide adds another devastating layer, underscoring both the human cost of war and the vulnerability of communities left without protection from nature’s fury.
