Sudanese officials announced on Thursday that they have recovered and buried the bodies of hundreds of individuals killed in a weekend landslide in the western Darfur region. Mujib al-Rahman al-Zubair, head of the Civil Authority in the Liberated Territories, shared in a video statement provided to The Associated Press that his team, assisted by local aid workers, retrieved 375 bodies so far.

Many more victims remain buried underground. During the video, al-Zubair led a gathering at the site, where he and others offered prayers for the deceased, saying, “May the victims of this heartbreaking event find peace.” Al-Zubair is overseeing ongoing rescue operations, which are hampered by limited equipment and resources, in an effort to locate additional bodies and any possible survivors.

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The landslide struck on August 31 in the Tarasin area of the Marrah Mountains, following intense rainfall. Mohamed Abdel-Rahman al-Nair, a spokesperson for the Sudan Liberation Movement-Army, previously estimated the death toll could reach 1,000. The United Nations' Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) echoed this estimate but noted the challenges in verifying exact numbers due to the remote and difficult terrain.

In response, the UN has mobilized support for the affected region, which lies over 900 kilometers west of Khartoum, the capital. UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric stated during a Thursday briefing that about 150 people from Tarasin and nearby villages have been displaced. OCHA, working with local NGOs, UN agencies, and international organizations, initiated a rapid assessment and aid mission on the same day. Teams navigated the rugged landscape, partly using donkeys, to reach the site.

Their priorities include confirming the full scope of the impact and providing essential supplies for up to 750 people, such as medical kits, food, mobile health clinics, and emergency medical teams. Al-Nair described the event as a “catastrophic humanitarian crisis” in a statement, urging the international community to act quickly with food and shelter for those who have lost their homes.

The Marrah Mountains, a volcanic range exceeding 3,000 meters at its peak, is a UNESCO World Heritage site known for its cooler climate and higher rainfall compared to surrounding areas, as noted by UNICEF. A smaller landslide in 2018 killed at least 19 people and injured many more, according to records from the former United Nations-African Union mission in Darfur.

This disaster compounds Sudan's ongoing humanitarian nightmare, stemming from a civil war that began in April 2023. The conflict, pitting the Sudanese army against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, has spread nationwide, resulting in over 40,000 deaths and the displacement of approximately 12 million people. Parts of the country are already grappling with famine and outbreaks of diseases like cholera.

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