An armed group that controls part of the west of Sudan appealed on Tuesday for foreign aid to recover bodies and rescue the residents of the torrential rain, after saying that at least 1,000 people were killed when a landslide buried a mountain town.
Only one person survived the destruction of the village of Trseen in the mountainous area of Jebel Marra in the Darfur region, said the Sudan Liberation Army (SLM/A).
SLM/A, which has long controlled and governed an autonomous portion of Jebel Marra, appealed to the United Nations help and help agencies to help collect the bodies of the victims, including men, women and children.
“Tarsen, famous for its citrus production, has now been completely level to the ground,” the group said in a statement. Continuous rains have hindered trips in the region and could prevent any rescue or help effort.
“The nearby villagers are overwhelmed by the fear that a similar destination can be seen if the torrential rain persists, which underlines the urgent need of a comprehensive evacuation plan and the provision of emergency refuge,” said the group leader, Abdelwahid Mohamed Nur, in a separate appeal.
A statement by the UN resident coordinator put the death toll between 300 and 1,000, citing local reports.
Nine bodies were recovered by volunteers, said Abdelhafiz Ali of the emergency room of Jebel Marra, who said that the village had housed hundreds of people displaced by the fight.
The SLM/A has remained neutral in battle among the main enemies in the Civil War of Sudan, the Sudanese Army and the Paramilitary Fast Support forces (RSF). The two enemies are struggling for the control of Al-Fashir, the capital of the state of northern Darfur, which is under Siege of the RSF and has suffered the famine.
Al-Fashir residents and nearby areas have sought refuge in Jebel Marra, although food, shelter and medical supplies are insufficient and hundreds of thousands have been exposed to the rains. Tawila, where most have arrived, is in the midst of an outbreak of anger, as well as other parts of Darfur.
The two -year civil war has left more than half of the population of Sudan that faces the levels of hunger for crisis and has expelled millions of their homes, leaving them especially exposed to the harmful annual floods of the country.
The government controlled by the Sudan Army expressed its condolences and its willingness to help.
The Prime Minister of a newly installed rival government controlled by RSF, Mohamed Hassan Al-Taishi, said he would coordinate with the SLM/A in the delivery of supplies of help to the area.
Pope Leo sent his condolences and said he was praying for those affected, according to a Vatican statement.
