A catastrophic landslide has struck Sudan’s western Darfur region, leaving widespread devastation, with aid groups warning that as many as 1,000 people may have been killed. The disaster, which followed days of heavy rainfall, buried entire villages under mud and rock, forcing desperate survivors to dig through rubble with their bare hands in search of their loved ones.
International aid organization Save the Children described scenes of “destruction and devastation” in the remote Tarseen area, where five villages were severely affected. Francesco Lanino, the group’s deputy Sudan director for programmes and operations, said survivors have been left to excavate mass graves and search for bodies without any equipment. “People are excavating by hand to rescue the bodies of their relatives since there are no tools or machinery,” he explained. The lack of resources has made the rescue and recovery mission agonizingly slow, heightening fears that hundreds remain trapped beneath the debris.
The true death toll remains uncertain. Sudan’s national health ministry reported only two confirmed fatalities, but the Civil Authority in charge of the affected area has said at least 373 bodies have already been recovered. Local armed groups, which control much of Darfur amid the country’s ongoing conflict, estimate the toll could be as high as 1,000, including as many as 200 children. Lanino echoed these concerns, warning that “1,000 lives may have been lost” and describing the landslide as “one of the most tragic and large-scale disasters in the region’s history.”
The scale of the devastation is almost unimaginable. In the worst-hit village in Tarseen, aid workers report that only one survivor has been found, while all others are feared dead. Entire households were buried alive as torrents of water loosened the unstable soil and triggered the deadly slide. Heavy rains in the region have already displaced thousands this year, worsening Sudan’s humanitarian crisis, which has been compounded by war, hunger, and mass displacement.
Independent verification of the full impact has proven extremely difficult due to the remoteness of the affected area and the volatile security situation in Darfur, where armed conflict continues to disrupt aid access. Save the Children staff on the ground have warned that the disaster has overwhelmed the already fragile local infrastructure, with no heavy machinery available to aid in recovery efforts. Emergency medical support and shelter are also desperately lacking, leaving survivors vulnerable to disease and further hardship.
The landslide adds to Sudan’s spiraling humanitarian emergency. Since April 2023, the country has been engulfed in a brutal conflict between rival military factions, displacing millions and pushing communities to the brink of famine. Now, with natural disasters striking vulnerable populations in remote areas, the humanitarian toll is deepening further. International agencies have called for urgent global attention and immediate support to aid victims of the Darfur landslide, stressing that time is running out for those still buried.
As villagers in Darfur continue to dig with their bare hands in a desperate bid to recover the remains of loved ones, the disaster serves as a harrowing reminder of the compounded crises facing Sudan: armed conflict, climate-driven disasters, and a collapsing health and aid system. The world’s response in the coming days will determine whether survivors receive the help they need—or whether this tragedy will silently claim even more lives.
Leave a comment