The group controlling Sudan's Darfur region has called for assistance in finding the bodies of more than 1,000 people buried in a landslide that wiped out a mountain village in an area that has seen an influx of internally displaced people fleeing violence in the ongoing war between the army and the Rapid Support Forces.
Only one person survived the landslide that destroyed the village of Tarasin in the Jebel Marra mountain range on Sunday after a week of heavy rain, the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM) said Tuesday.
Request for aid
The leader of the group, Minni Arko Minawi called on the United Nations and aid organisations for help recovering the bodies buried under mud and debris.
In images published by the SLM online, huge sections of the mountainside appear to have collapsed, burying the village under mud, uprooted trees and shattered beams.
The SLM, which controls parts of the Jebel Marra range, has mostly stayed out of the conflict the ongoing war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Supplies needed
However, hundreds of thousands of people have fled into SLM-held territory to escape the violence, in particular a siege of El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur.
Food, shelter, and medical supplies are insufficient for the number of people arriving, and the area is also suffering a cholera outbreak.
The rainy season regularly blocks roads, adding to isolation of the mountainous areas.
The fighting has made access to much of Darfur - including the area where the landslide occurred - inaccessible to international aid organisations, severely limiting the delivery of urgent humanitarian assistance.
(with newswires)
