More than a thousand people have died following a huge landslide in the western Sudanese region of Darfur .

A " landslide of enormous and devastating proportions " hit the village of Tarasin in the Marra Mountains on Sunday, the Sudan Liberation Army (SPLA) said in a statement, specifying that " initial reports indicate the death of all residents, estimated at more than 1,000 individuals , with only one survivor."

The landslide "completely destroyed" part of a region known for its citrus production , the EMLPs added. The group has therefore appealed to the United Nations and other humanitarian organizations to help recover the dead still buried under earth and debris.

Darfur Governor Minni Minnawi called the landslide a " humanitarian tragedy that transcends the region's borders . We call on international humanitarian organizations to urgently intervene and provide support and assistance at this critical time, because 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 virtually inaccessible to international humanitarian organizations due to ongoing fighting between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), severely limiting the delivery of urgent humanitarian assistance.

(Unioneonline/vl)

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