Blocked access routes, conflict delay aid to landslide-hit Darfur

Efforts to rescue survivors and deliver aid to victims of a deadly landslide in Sudan's Darfur region on Sunday are being slowed by blocked access routes due to heavy rains and ongoing conflict, according to the United Nations.

Antoine Gerard, the United Nation's deputy humanitarian coordinator for Sudan, said local sources estimated the death toll at about 1,000, though humanitarian groups believe the figure could be lower adding that an inter-agency assessment will seek to provide verified figures in the coming days.

He said, "It is hard to assess the full scale of the incident or confirm the exact death toll, as the affected area is very hard to reach."

Gerard told China Daily that aid groups, working under the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs or OCHA, will deploy a joint team this week to deliver food, clean water, medical supplies, and hygiene kits.

"In Tarsin specifically, the immediate needs are search and rescue support, emergency medical care, and temporary shelter for those who have lost their homes," he said.

Gerard said reaching the site has proven extremely difficult emphasizing that communities in Darfur urgently need reliable humanitarian access to ensure support is delivered consistently, not only during disasters.

The landslide struck Tarasin village after days of torrential rain, burying homes under thick mud and uprooted trees. The disaster has compounded what aid agencies already describe as one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

Sudan is entering its third year of civil war between the national army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The fighting has displaced millions, destroyed livelihoods, and left basic services in collapse.

"The disaster shows how natural shocks are worsening the suffering of people already living in crisis," Luca Renda, the UN resident and humanitarian coordinator in Sudan, said. He stressed that aid delivery would continue despite the difficult conditions.

The Sudan Liberation Movement/Army, which controls parts of Darfur, said in a statement on Monday that Tarasin had been "completely levelled to the ground" and reported that there is only one survivor.

Pictures shared by the army movement on its website showed two gullies on the side of a mountain that converge at a lower level, where the village of Tarasin had been.

Images appeared to show vast swathes of the mountainside sheared away, with the village below buried under thick mud and uprooted trees.

Adam Rijal, spokesperson for the General Coordination for Displaced Persons and Refugees in Darfur, urged for swift international action. He said the tragedy should "shake the conscience of the entire world" and warned that delays in assistance could worsen the suffering of survivors.

Regional leaders have also voiced concern with the African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf appealing to Sudanese rivals to "silence the guns and unite in facilitating the swift and effective delivery of emergency humanitarian assistance".

Gerard said the priority remains overcoming bottlenecks and ensuring supplies reach affected families. "Above all, people need reliable humanitarian access," he said. "Only then can lives be saved not just in disasters, but every day across Darfur."