More than 1,000 people died in a landslide in western Sudan on Sunday, according to a rebel group that controls the area, reports The Guardian on Tuesday.
The landslide destroyed an entire village in the Marra Mountains area of western Sudan, leaving only one survivor, said the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM).
The disaster befell on 31 August after heavy rains, said the group, led by Abdelwahid Nour.
"Initial information indicates the death of all village residents, estimated to be more than one thousand individuals, with only one survivor," its statement said.
The movement, which controls the area located in the Darfur region, pleaded to the UN and international aid agencies to help recover the bodies of victims, including men, women and children.
The village "has now been completely levelled to the ground", the statement said.
Sudan's bloody civil war – now in its third year – saw one of the world's worst humanitarian crises unfold in the country, with famine declared in parts of Darfur.
Fighting has escalated in Darfur, especially in El-Fasher, since the army took control of the capital, Khartoum, in March.
As fighting intensified between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, residents reportedly sought shelter in the Marra Mountains area, where food and medication are in short supply.
The SLM has mostly stayed out of the fighting, but controls parts of Sudan's tallest mountain range.
Darfur's army-aligned governor, Minni Minnawi, called the landslide a "humanitarian tragedy that goes beyond the borders of the region".
"We appeal to international humanitarian organisations to urgently intervene and provide support and assistance at this critical moment, for the tragedy is greater than what our people can bear alone," he said in a statement.
Much of Darfur – including the area where the landslide occurred – remains largely out of reach to international aid organisations due to ongoing
war, severely limiting the delivery of urgent humanitarian assistance.
The fighting has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions, including about four million from the capital alone.
Hundreds have been reported killed in recent months, and civilians in El-Fasher say the paramilitaries are currently waging their fiercest assault yet on the North Darfur state capital.
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